Name:
Maxakalisaurus
(Maxakali lizard, after a Topa divinity).
Phonetic: Max-ah-kal-e-sore-us.
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.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Aeolosauridae,
Aeolosaurini.
Species: M. topai (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Holotype, estimated to be about 13
meters long, but possibly as much as 20 meters long.
Known locations: Brazil - Adamantina Formation.
Time period: Turonian to Santonian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.
Like with Saltasaurus, Maxakalisaurus is a titanosaur known to have had bony plates called osteoderms (scutes) in the skin for additional protection from harm. The post cranial skeleton of Maxakalisaurus also hints at a relationship to other aeolsaurid genera such as Aeolosaurus, Gondwanatitan. Maxakalisaurus is one of the largest dinosaurs known to have lived in Brazil, though isolated fossils of other dinosaurs hint that many could grow bigger, but these are usually so poor and incomplete that they cannot be used to identify a genus.
Further reading
- On a new titanosaur sauropod from the Bauru Group, Late
Cretaceous of Brazil - 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.
- New lower jaw and teeth referred to Maxakalisaurus topai
(Titanosauria: Aeolosaurini) and their implications for the phylogeny
of titanosaurid sauropods. - PeerJ 4:e2054; - Marco A.G. Fran�a, J�lio
C. de A. Marsola, Douglas Riff, Annie S. Hsiou & Max C. Langer
- 2016.