Maxakalisaurus

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.





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