A team of scientists discovered never before seen fossils of a new species of dinosaur located in Morella, Spain. This dinosaur is also unique, as it boasts a sail on its back, where scientists now dub it as Morelladon beltrani, that existed some 125 million years ago.

Researchers from the National Distance Education University and the Autonomous University of Madrid estimate that this ancient creature measured about six meters long and 2.5 meters high, weighing around two tons.

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This new dinosaur apparently belongs to the group known as ornithopods where they are considered to be herbivorous, or plant eaters which also holds clues about the massive morphological diversity among their species. According to co-author of the study, Fernando Escaso from the National Distance Education University, some members of this group are classified as bipedal however this Morella dinosaur walked on four legs. 

This dinosaur that was uncovered in Morella also used its hind legs to make short forays but other than that, it spends most of its time walking on four legs. The fossilized remains also originate from an unknown species discovered back in 2013, after analysis. 

The Morelladon beltrani is also named after Vicente Beltran, the owner of a quarry in southern Barcelona where the fossils were uncovered. It is a medium sized ornithopod that is also has similarities with another European dinosaur known as  Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis.

But above all, this new dinosaur also possesses a strange feature in the dorsal side of its vertebrae consisting of very long neural spines, according to researchers.

The spines are thought to support some sort of "sail" that runs across the creature's back that can help regulate the dinosaur's body temperature and even store fat in them, to sustain them during long periods of time when food is scarce, similar to camels and bisons of today.

Scientists also believe that this sail-type structure can also indicate the individual members of the species or even determine males and females of the species. This new study is published in the journal, PloS ONE.

Tagsdinosaur with sail on back, morella dinosaur spain, morella spain, Dinosaurs, new dinosaur species, ornithopods, Morelladon beltrani