Maxakalisaurus is a genus of titanosaur dinosaur, found in the Adamantina Formation of Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais in 1998. The genus name is derived from the tribe of the Maxakali; Topa is one of their divinities.
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.
Fossil record
Fossils of
Maxakalisaurus topai are known from the Adamantina Formation. The
holotype, MN 5013-V, was housed at the National Museum of Brazil.
It included a fragmentary right
maxilla with teeth, twelve cervical vertebrae and some cervical ribs, seven
dorsal vertebrae and some dorsal ribs, a neural spine and centrum from the
sacrum, six
caudal vertebrae, some
haemal arches, pieces of the
scapulae, both
sternal plates, part of the left
ischium, both
humeri, two
metacarpals, part of the
fibula, an
osteoderm, and some unidentified pieces. Two other sternal plates and part of a third scapula were also found at the site, and are considered to belong to a second individual.
Some of the elements from the type locality pertained to an adult individual and others pertained to a subadult individual.
A partial dentary and some teeth were subsequently recovered from the type locality and are also considered to belong to
M. topai.
Some elements of the holotype were lost in the National Museum of Brazil fire on 2 September 2018, but several elements survived the fire and were recovered.
Description
Maxakalisaurus is considered a medium-sized titanosaur.
The type specimen of
Maxakalisaurus belonged to an animal about long, with an estimated weight of .
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.
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:
-
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
