T he species Allosaurus fragilis, from the Morrison Formation of North America (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian, Upper Jurassic), is one of the best known members of the Theropoda, the group including all predatory non-avian dinosaurs and birds. Here, we report on the first diagnostic theropod remains discovered from the Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula. The specimen is the first evidence of A. fragilis outside North America. Thus, this taxon represents the first dinosaur species found on two different continents, and suggests the existence of a 'land bridge' between North America and Europe during the Late Jurassic.

Today, scientific literacy has become increasingly important as a hallmark of citizenship and as a way to facilitate many of life's daily decisions. Scientific literacy can be achieved through learning, a complex lifelong process that occurs both in school and out-of-school settings. As most adults only engage in formal education about science during compulsory schooling, all the learning that people go through in out-of-school settings and beyond compulsory schooling becomes extremely important toward the scientific literacy of the individual. The learning process in out-of-school settings requires interest from each person and can be facilitated by various agents, for example, museums. This is particularly true for Earth sciences as Geology topics are rarely taught within the science curricula during school. The Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência provides realistic experiences that engage different publics into science and thus enhances the public science literacy. It is expected that by enhancing people's Earth sciences literacy, it will also enhance their awareness of geological heritage.

The Caldeirao cave (140 km NE of Lisbon) near the Serra da Estrela which has preserved Last Glacial deposits, and has yielded an Upper Pleistocene sequence with two rodent layers. Respectively dated between 30000-18000 BP (layer K-Fa) and 16000-10000 BP (layer Eb) the microfaunas contain the following: Apodemus sylvaticus, Eliomys quercinus, Allocricetus bursae, Microtus arvalis and agrestis, Microtus (Iberomys) brecciensis brecciensis-cabrerae, Chionomys nivalis, M. (Terricola) duodecimcostatus and lusitanicus, Arvicola cf. sapidus and Castor fiber. The rodents succession suggest that, from bottom to the top, open and dry steppe landscapes with some forest zones gave way to more wet and forest conditions which, after a phase of erosion, were followed by a climate of mediterranean character. Allocricetus bursae, discovered in Portugal for the first time (layers K, H or Fc), demonstrates the extension of eurasiatic steppes into the Iberian peninsula during the Rochebertier phase between 30000 and 18000 BP.

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