Fun Camarillasaurus Facts For Kids

The Camarillasaurus is a genus of dinosaur in the family Spinosauridae found in the early Cretaceous period. This Theropod dinosaur has a name that means 'Camarillas reptile'. This dinosaur was based in Camarillas, Teruel province, in what is now northeastern Spain. The Theropod dinosaur was first described in 2014 as a Ceratosaurian dinosaur. However, in 2021, it was rightfully placed in the taxon Spinosauridae. We should know how the name Camarillasaurus came about. The name references fossils found in the Camarillas formation. Bárbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton first gave the description and classification of the type species with the name Camarillasaurus cirugedae. References and the description are more profound for the taxon in 'Filling the Ceratosaur Gap: a New Ceratosaurian Theropod from the Early Cretaceous of Spain' by Bárbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton. The research considered the genus to be a basal Ceratosaur. However, in a conference in 2019, Oliver Rauhut and his colleagues suggested it is a member of the Spinosauridae. His research dismissed the classification of the dinosaur as a Ceratosaur. Differences are based on research on characteristics of the posterior caudal vertebrae and the newly excavated fossil at the type locality.

According to 'Filling the Ceratosaur Gap: a New Ceratosaurian Theropod from the Early Cretaceous of Spain' by Bárbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton, these dinosaurs evolved in two parts. The first part was in the middle and late Jurassic period and the second was in the late Cretaceous period. The 20 million-year gap left between these periods in the early Cretaceous period had no fossil that was found. With this information and research, two scientists gave the type species description of the Camarillasaurus cirugedae found in the Camarillas formation of Camarillas, Teruel province in northeastern Spain.

For more relatable content, check out these Phuwiangosaurus facts and Pukyongosaurus fun facts for kids.

How do you pronounce 'Camarillasaurus'?

The pronunciation of the name Camarillasaurus is 'Camar-rilla-saw-ras'.

What type of dinosaur was a Camarillasaurus?

The Camarillasaurus was earlier known to be a Ceratosaurian Theropod; however, a recent classification of the species described the Theropod dinosaur as a Spinosaurid dinosaur. There is one type of species known of the dinosaur called Camarillasaurus cirugedae, described by Bárbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton.

In which geological period did the Camarillasaurus roam the Earth?

This basal Theropod dinosaur used to live in the early Cretaceous period of Spain. This detail is based on the description of the fossil found in Spain.

When did the Camarillasaurus become extinct?

Based on the time period of the Camarillasaurus dinosaur, we know that the early Cretaceous period of Spain was between 145 million years ago - 100.5 million years ago. This is probably the time period when the species became extinct.

Where did a Camarillasaurus live?

The fossil of the Camarillasaurus dinosaur was found in the Camarillas formation, hence the name of the species. Dinosaurs of this genus are said to have been based in Camarillas, Teruel province, in what is now the land of northeastern Spain. The fossil has also been found in Castellon in Spain.

What was a Camarillasaurus's habitat?

There is not much description of the habitat of this species; however, we presume that the species lived in forested areas. These dinosaurs were spread across Europe.

Who did a Camarillasaurus live with?

There is no information on the company these carnivorous dinosaurs used to keep. They probably lived in small groups or in pairs and hunted smaller animals and dinosaurs.

How long did a Camarillasaurus live?

This information is unavailable. It is known from research based on two scientists' thesis that there has been a dark phase in the evolution of this genus for 20 million years. No fossil or data is available on these Ceratosaurs during this period.

How did they reproduce?

The proper reproduction procedure of these dinosaurs is not known. The species Camarillasaurus cirugedae was known to be an egg-laying species but the number of eggs is not known. Dinosaurs in general were known to reproduce by laying eggs and usually laid a clutch of three to five eggs. However, sometimes the number of eggs was as high as 15-20 eggs.

What did a Camarillasaurus look like?

The Camarillasaurus cirugedae dinosaur was first described by Bárbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton. The genus found in 2014 was first said to be a Ceratosaur; however, recently these dinosaurs were categorized as Spinosaurids. Very little is known of the genus as only a few fragmented pieces of fossils have been found so far. According to researchers, restoration also has not helped much as some fossils share traits with the Spinosaurus and the Suchomimus, and older reconstructions share traits with Ceratosaurs. The fossil found has several vertebrae and ribs and is of a juvenile.

Although this genus was considered a Ceratosaur earlier, newer material unearthed along with the posterior caudal vertebrae has now put this species in a different family. A dissertation by Adun Samathi gave the same hypothesis in 2019 as Rauhat and his colleagues. It was later confirmed in 2021 when a new Spinosaur from Thailand was analyzed. There were vertebrae similarities in both species.

*We've been unable to source an image of a Camarillasaurus and have used an image of a skeleton of a Brontosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a Camarillasaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].

How many bones did a Camarillasaurus have?

The number of bones is not known as only a fraction of the skeleton has been retrieved to date. With time hopefully more will be unearthed so that we come to know more about our favorite dinosaurs in more detail.

How did they communicate?

We don't have any information on the mode of communication of these dinosaurs. However, dinosaurs usually communicate vocally or visually and that might be the same case with these dinosaurs too. Dinosaurs also communicate by body movements and postures to attract mates or show dominance over other species.

How big was a Camarillasaurus?

Only fragmented bones and fossils have been retrieved and that alone is not enough to determine the height and length of this species. We know that they were not very tall.

How fast could a Camarillasaurus move?

Due to their small to medium size, these dinosaurs were probably quick and agile.

How much did a Camarillasaurus weigh?

The weight of these dinosaurs is not known as not many details have been found yet about the species.

What were the male and female names of the species?

We have no information on names given to males and females of this species of dinosaurs.

What would you call a baby Camarillasaurus?

Babies of these Camarillasaurus dinosaurs were probably given no other names.

What did they eat?

The Camarillasaurus dinosaur was known to be a carnivore. It probably fed on smaller dinosaurs and animals that roamed the planet during the early Cretaceous period.

How aggressive were they?

They were probably aggressive but we have no information on it.

Did you know...

Seeing their carnivorous nature, these dinosaurs probably had sharp teeth but no fossil to confirm it has been found yet.

It was a Theropod dinosaur.

Which dinosaurs were the Camarillasaurus similar to?

When the fossil was first described, the species was known to be a Ceratosaurian Theropod; however, newer material and extensive research proved that the dinosaur is actually a Spinosaurid. This revelation was found when the fossil was compared to another Spinosaurid fossil found in Thailand.

What did the word Camarillasaurus originally refer to?

The word Camarillasaurus originally referred to a Ceratosaurian Theropod dinosaur.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Adamantisaurus facts, or Suuwassea Interesting facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Camarillasaurus coloring pages.