Maxakalisaurus
Maxakalisaurus | |
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Reconstructed skeleton | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Sauropoda |
Clade: | †Macronaria |
Clade: | †Titanosauria |
Clade: | †Lithostrotia |
Genus: | †Maxakalisaurus Kellner et al., 2006 |
Species: | †M. topai
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Binomial name | |
†Maxakalisaurus topai Kellner et al., 2006
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Maxakalisaurus is a
Discovery and naming
Over the course of four field seasons, from 1998 to 2002, the National Museum of Brazil excavated a partial skeleton of a titanosaur along the Campina Verde - Prata road, 45 km to the west of Prata, Minas Gerais. In 2006, a team led by Alexander W. A. Kellner described the remains as a new genus and species of sauropod, Maxakalisaurus topai. The genus name honors the Maxakali, an ethnic group indigenous to the region, and the species name refers to the Maxakali deity Topa.[1]
Fossil record
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Maxakalisaurus_jaw.png/170px-Maxakalisaurus_jaw.png)
Fossils of Maxakalisaurus topai are known from the
Description
Maxakalisaurus is considered a medium-sized titanosaur.[1][5] The type specimen of Maxakalisaurus belonged to an animal about 12.1 meters (40 feet) long, with an estimated weight of 5 tonnes (5.5 short tons).[1][6] It had a long neck and tail, ridged teeth (unusual among sauropods) and lived about 80 million years ago. Because sauropods seem to have lacked significant competition in South America, they evolved there with greater diversity and more unusual traits than elsewhere in the world. Like many other titanosaurs, Maxakalisaurus had osteoderms.[1]
Classification
França et al.'s 2016 description of the second specimen also included a phylogenetic analysis, which placed Maxakalisaurus as a basal member of the Aeolosaurini. Their cladogram is shown below:[4]
Lithostrotia |
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References
- ^ ISSN 0080-3200.
- ^ BBC (3 September 2018). "Brazil National Museum fire: Key treasures at risk". BBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ ISSN 0195-6671.
- ^ PMID 27330853.
- ISBN 978-3-030-95958-6.
- ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press. p. 212.
- Santucci, R. M. & Bertini, R.J. (2006). "A large sauropod titanosaur from Peirópolis, Bauru Group, Brazil." N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Mh., 2006: 344-360; Stuttgart.
External links
- Brazil's Biggest Dinosaur Unveiled - LiveScience.com