Gideonmantellia

Gideonmantellia is known from a partial skeleton that includes most of the backbone, hips, and legs, but no skull.1

The first bones were found in 1982 by amateur fossil hunter José María Herrero and his son Jesús.12

It was named in 2012 after Gideon Mantell, the scientist who first described a similar dinosaur called Hypsilophodon.12

The species name amosanjuanae honors paleontologist Olga María Amo Sanjuán, who studied fossils from the same area in Spain.12

Gideonmantellia had a special L-shaped first chevron bone under its tail, which helps scientists tell it apart from other dinosaurs.2

Its fossils were found in red clay that was deposited by a river about 125 million years ago.12