The new species, called 'Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum', was identified from remains of an almost complete and semi-articulated leg discovered during excavations carried out in 2021 in the geological formation of Lourinhã, on the rocky outcrop of Porto Dinheiro beach.

The result of the work, carried out by paleontologists from the Nova universities of Lisbon, Zaragoza (Spain) and Bonn (Germany), in collaboration with the Lourinhã Museum and the Natural History Society of Torres Vedras, is published in the digital edition of the publication of the specialty Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The new species is named 'martinho' and 'tomas', in honour of Micael Martinho and Carla Tomás, the fossil preparers at the Lourinhã Museum, where the remains of the leg of 'Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum' are on display to the public.

According to researchers, the new dinosaur, due to its characteristics, was quite rare in the Jurassic geological period in Europe.