José Royo y Gómez y los dinosaurios españoles

Abstract

José Royo y Gómez (1895 - 1961) was the first Spanish paleontologist that realized the potential significance of the Spanish dinosaur record. His research in dinosaurs lasted from 1918 to 1927. A lot of dinosaur material was housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (Madrid), most of it lost during the civil war. The main goal of Royo y Gómez was the research on wealden dinosaurs from the provinces of Castellón, Valencia y Teruel. He reported the presence of Cetiosaurus, which is very improbable under the present-day knowledge. The presence of a form akin to Megalosaurus is probable. The ornithopod Iguanodon atherfieldensis actually belongs to the Lower Cretaceous Spanish dinosaur fauna. Royo y Gómez was not convinced of the similarity of the Lower Cretaceous dinosaur fauna between the Iberian peninsula and other western Europe sites, an idea currently accepted