Tamarro is a type of dinosaur known as a troodontid. It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago, in what is now Spain. Tamarro is a special dinosaur because it is the only species named in its genus, called Tamarro insperatus.
The first remains of Tamarro were found in 2003, specifically a part of its foot known as a metatarsal. Scientists studied these remains and officially described the dinosaur in 2021. The name “Tamarro” comes from a creature from local folklore in the Pallars region of Spain, while “insperatus” means unexpected, highlighting how surprising this discovery was.
Tamarro is categorized under a group known as Jinfengopteryginae, making it the first dinosaur of this kind discovered in Europe. Researchers believe that its ancestors may have traveled from Asia to Europe a long time ago, during a time called the Cenomanian to Maastrichtian periods.
From the remains studied, Tamarro appears to be a young dinosaur. Its size suggests it grew rapidly when it was young.
In terms of its environment, Tamarro lived on the Ibero-Armorican Island, which was part of a larger group of islands during the Cretaceous period. It shared its habitat with other unique dinosaurs, including smaller long-necked dinosaurs known as dwarf sauropods and other plant-eating dinosaurs called lambeosaurine hadrosaurs.
Overall, the discovery of Tamarro adds valuable information about the variety of small dinosaurs that lived in Europe during the Cretaceous period.