Laño () is a hamlet and ''
concejo'' (a small administrative subdivision) in
Condado de Treviño within the
Treviño enclave; which is administratively part of the Spanish
province of Burgos
The province of Burgos is a Provinces of Spain, province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia (p ...
, but which is completely surrounded by the territory of the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
country
province of Álava. It is best known for the fossils of extinct vertebrates dating from around 70
million years before present which have been found there.
Las Gobas, a site of ancient artificial caves from the 7th to the 13th century CE, is located just north of the village.
Palaeontology
The Paleontology Unit of the
University of the Basque Country and other scientists have studied the fossil record at Laño. The fossils are from the
late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...
(
late Campanian to
lower Maastrichtian). It has been inferred that there was then a
braided river
A braided river (also called braided channel or braided stream) consists of a network of river channel (geography), channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called ''braid bars'' or, in British English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''.
...
bed at the site, that the sea was nearby, and that the climate was
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
or
sub-tropical.
Taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
identified at Laño include:
* ''
Arcovenator'' sp., a species of
abelisaurid dinosaur
[
* '' Acynodon iberoccitanus'', a species of crocodilian in genus '' Acynodon''
* '' Dortoka vasconica'', a species of turtle in genus '' Dortoka'' in family Dortokidae in sub-order Pleurodira
* '' Gargantuavis'', a genus of bird][
* '' Herensugea caristiorum'', a species of snake in genus '' Herensugea'' in family Madtsoiidae
* '' Lainodon orueetxebarriai'', a species of placental mammal in genus '' Lainodon'' in family Zhelestidae
* '' Lirainosaurus astibiae'', a species of sauropod dinosaur in genus '' Lirainosaurus''
* '' Menarana laurasiae'', a species of snake in genus '' Menarana''][
* '' Struthiosaurus'', a genus of ankylosaur][
* '' Taveirosaurus'', a genus of ornithischian dinosaur
* '' Tarascosaurus'' a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur
* ?'' Pyroraptor'', a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur]
Gallery
File:Lañuko Eliza kalea.JPG, Laño church
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lano
Populated places in the Province of Burgos
Paleontology in Spain
Late Cretaceous