Dino card No. 1481 of 2,027

Protathlitis

Say it: pro-tath-LIE-tis

Name means: “champion”1

Ate: MeatSpinosaursEarly Cretaceous

Protathlitis was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Spain. It had a long snout like a crocodile and probably ate fish. This dinosaur was a champion, just like its name says!1

Lived

126 to 121 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

ANA quarry near Cinctorres, Castellón, Spain1 3

Food

Meat1 3

Length

10 to 11 m1

estimate for the holotype individual

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 2.5 cars parked in a rowas long as 61 bananas end to end

How big was Protathlitis compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Protathlitis was named after the UEFA Europa League title won by Villarreal C.F. in 2021, as a tribute to the club's centenary.1

It lived about 127 to 126 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.1

The only known fossils are a piece of the right upper jaw and five tail vertebrae.1

Protathlitis belonged to a group of spinosaurids called baryonychines, which had curved teeth with fine serrations.1

It was discovered in 1998 by geologist Ramón Ortí, but the first fossils were not dug up until 2002.1

The fossils were found in rocks that were once a shallow, low-energy estuary.1

AI-made picture of Protathlitis — An AI-made picture of how Protathlitis might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Protathlitis

?How big was Protathlitis?

It was about 10 to 11 metres (33 to 36 feet) long, based on the holotype specimen.1

?What did Protathlitis eat?

It was a meat-eater, probably eating fish. Its long snout and curved, serrated teeth are typical of fish-eating spinosaurids.2 1

?When did Protathlitis live?

It lived about 127 to 126 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.1 2

?Where was Protathlitis found?

Its fossils were found near Cinctorres, in Castellón, Spain, in rocks that were once a shallow estuary.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Protathlitis
Named by: Santos-Cubedo et al. 20233
Group: Spinosaurs
Family / clade: Spinosauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Spinosauridae3
Age of the rocks: 126 to 121 million years (Barremian)3
Rock formations: Arcillas de Morella3
Countries: Spain3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Protathlitis was named in 2023 by Andrés Santos-Cubedo and colleagues. The fossils were found at the ANA site near Cinctorres, Spain, first spotted in 1998 and excavated starting in 2002.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Protathlitis grew, because only a few bones have been found.1

Where the facts come from

A new spinosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous of Cinctorres (Spain) | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
Protathlitis (en.wikipedia.org)
Protathlitis in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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