Protathlitis cinctorrensis

"champion"

Generic theropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Protathlitis 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic theropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Protathlitis
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (129.4–125 Mya)
Place
Europe · China · Spain
Food
Piscivore (fish-eater)
Clade
Spinosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Crocodile-snouted fish-eaters with sail or hump.

Protathlitis (meaning “champion”) is a potentially dubious and chimeric genus of theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Arcillas de Morella Formation of Castellón, Spain. The type and only species is Protathlitis cinctorrensis, known from a partial skeleton. It was originally identified as a basal member of the Baryonychinae. If a spinosaurid identity of the material is correct, its discovery, as well as those of the spinosaurids Camarillasaurus, Iberospinus, Riojavenatrix, and the contemporary Vallibonavenatrix shows that the Iberian Peninsula held a diverse assemblage of these theropods during the Early Cretaceous.

What we know

  • Named by Santos-Cubedo et al., 2023.
  • Fossils found in Europe and China.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Protathlitis — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.