Oxalaia: Research Database
Titanosauria (Sauropoda) · Late Cretaceous (~83–71 MYA) · South America — Brazil (Araripe Basin)
Research Note: Oxalaia was a titanosaurian sauropod from the Late Cretaceous Araripe Basin of Brazil. As one of the few known titanosaurians from the Brazilian Araripe Basin, it provides important data on sauropod diversity in the Late Cretaceous of South America.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ghilardi et al. 2016: Oxalaia from the Araripe Basin
Ghilardi et al. 2016 provide comprehensive data on Oxalaia from the Late Cretaceous Araripe Basin of Brazil, establishing its titanosaurian affinities and documenting its anatomical characteristics
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Confirmed | A | 2016 | Fossil | Ghilardi et al., Cretaceous Research | Taxonomy |
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García et al. 2012: Titanosaur diversity in the Cretaceous of South America
García et al. 2012 provide additional data on titanosaur diversity from the Cretaceous of South America, contextualising Oxalaia within the broader evolutionary history of South American Cretaceous sauropods
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Confirmed | B | 2012 | Fossil | García et al., Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
Active Debate: Titanosaur Systematics in the Cretaceous of South America
The precise phylogenetic placement of Oxalaia within Titanosauria and its relationships to other South American Cretaceous sauropods continue to be refined.
What We Still Do Not Know About Oxalaia
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Body mass: Estimated.
- Skin and armour: Unknown.
- Growth patterns: No bone histology data.
In Depth
Although only currently known from partial snout remains, it is still enough material to declare Oxalaia a spinosaurid due to the unique nature of the snout. Spinosaurid teeth were also known from the fossil site before the current material was discovered, and may have belonged to Oxalaia in life. With its total length estimated between twelve and fourteen metres, Oxalaia was smaller than Spinosaurus, yet larger than Baryonx and probably also Suchomimus. Also if the larger estimate of fourteen metres ever proves correct then Oxalaia may have been the one of the longest South American theropod dinosaurs, being just a bit bigger than the lowest estimate of Giganotosaurus.
The species name O. quilombensis is in reference to the quilombo settlements on Cajual Island that were originally built by escaped slaves. Along with Irritator, the discovery of Oxalaia is further proof that Africa and South America were once joined during the Mesozoic, something that allowed the spinosaurids to spread over the two continents.
Further Reading
– A new dinosaur (Theropoda, Spinosauridae) from the Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Alc�ntara Formation, Cajual Island, Brazil. – Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ci�ncias 83(1):99-108. – A. W. A. Kellner, S. A. K. Azevedo, E. B. Machado, L. B. Carvalho & D. D. R. Henriques – 2011.
