Maxakalisaurus (Maxakali lizard, after a Topa divinity)
Short Info
Maxakalisaurus (Maxakali lizard, after a Topa divinity)
Named By : A. W. A. Kellner, D. A. Campos, S. A. K. Azevedo, M. N. F. Trotta, D. D. R. Henriques, M. M. T. Craik & H. P. Silva - 2006
Diet : Herbivore
Size : Estimated 13 meters long, but possibly as much as 20 meters long
Type of Dinosaur : Sauropod
Type Species : M. topai (type)
Found in : Brazil - Adamantina Formation
When it Lived : Late Cretaceous, 80 million years ago
Maxakalisaurus, a genus titanosaur dinosaur, was discovered in Brazil’s Adamantina Formation in 1998 in the state Minas Gerais. The tribe of Maxakali is the source of the genus name; Topa is one their divinities.
GeoPotinga, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maxakalisaurus was a 13 meter (43 feet) tall animal with a weight of 9 tons. However, Alexander Kellner, paleontologist, believes it could have been up to 20 meters (66 feet). It lived around 80 million years ago and had a long neck, tail, and ridged teeth. South America is where sauropods evolved with more diversity and unusual traits because they had less competition. Maxakalisaurus also had defensive osteoderms, like Saltasaurus the titanosaur. One has been discovered on the holotype.
A 2016 Maxakalisaurus specimen was described to have a dentary and teeth.
The National Museum of Brazil displayed a Maxakalisaurus skeleton that had been reconstructed. It is not known if the National Museum of Brazil fire of September 2018 caused damage.
Source: Wikipedia
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