Oldest Dinosaur Fossil in Iberia May Be a 220-Million-Year-Old Theropod Vertebra

A thumb-sized fossilized vertebra discovered in Portugal’s Algarve region may be the oldest dinosaur fossil ever found on the Iberian Peninsula.

Triassic dinosaur fossil discovered in Portugal

“This is the first Triassic dinosaur fossil found on the Iberian Peninsula and the oldest dinosaur currently known from this region,” said researchers Dr. Rui Tiago dos Santos-Matos and Dr. Octavio Mateus from the University of Lisbon Nova.

The specimen is a single vertebral centrum—the main body of a dorsal vertebra—and measures 37 mm, or approximately 1.5 inches, in length.

The bone, labeled NOVAFCT-DCT-5562, was discovered near Penina in Portugal’s Algarve region. It was recovered from rocks of the Silves Group, which paleontologists believe date to the Late Triassic, more than 220 million years ago.

Portugal’s Triassic fossil record

Until now, the Triassic fauna of Portugal was mainly known from aquatic or semi-aquatic animals, including large amphibians, phytosaurs, placodonts and fishes.

NOVAFCT-DCT-5562 represents the first fully terrestrial vertebrate described from these deposits.

“Until now, no dinosaur bone elements have been described from the Portuguese Triassic, but there are several footprints that can be attributed to this clade,” the scientists said.

Evidence of an early theropod

To identify the fossil, the researchers compared it with vertebrae from many early dinosaurs and their relatives. They also conducted an evolutionary analysis using an expanded dataset that included 13 new features developed to describe the dorsal vertebrae of early theropods.

The analysis classified the specimen as a neotheropod, a lineage of early predatory dinosaurs closely related to Sarcosaurus woodi, a species known from Early Jurassic rocks in Britain.

If this interpretation is supported, the bone would rank among the oldest known neotheropod fossils.

“The close relationship between Sarcosaurus and NOVAFCT-DCT-5562 suggests that Sarcosaurus may have originated in the latest Late Triassic or Early to Middle Triassic,” the authors said.

However, the Portuguese specimen is at least 20 million years older than Sarcosaurus. It is therefore highly unlikely that the two fossils represent the same species or genus.

Why the fossil cannot receive a new species name

The vertebra has no unique characteristics and is too fragmentary to be assigned to a known species or used to establish a new one.

“NOVA-FCT-DCT-5562 may represent an unknown theropod species, but it lacks autapomorphies, and the remains are too fragmentary to be assigned to a known species or to establish a new theropod,” the paleontologists concluded.

The study was published in the journal Fossil Imprint.

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Rui Tiago Santos-Matos and Octavio Mateus. 2026. Late Triassic theropod vertebrae from the Algarve, Portugal – evidence for the earliest Iberian dinosaurs. Fossil Imprint 82 (1): 98–109. doi: 10.37520/fi.2026.006