Dino card No. 0854 of 2,027

Ibirania

Say it: ee-bee-RAH-nee-ah

Name means: “little tree wanderer”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Ibirania was a tiny sauropod, one of the smallest long-necked dinosaurs ever found. It lived in a dry, inland part of Brazil about 80 million years ago. Despite its small size, it had air-filled bones just like its giant relatives.1 2

Lived

86 to 72 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

São Paulo State, Brazil1 3

Food

Plants3 1

Length

5.7 m1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 32 bananas end to end

How big was Ibirania compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Ibirania is one of the smallest sauropods known, only about 5.7 metres (19 feet) long.1 2

Its bones were extremely hollow and filled with air sacs, like a bird's, which helped make it lighter.1

Scientists found fossilised parasites inside the bone canals of one Ibirania leg bone, the first time such parasites have been seen in a dinosaur.1

One Ibirania specimen had a bone infection called acute osteomyelitis, which scientists studied using CT scans and thin slices of the bone.1

Ibirania lived in a dry, inland environment, and its small size may have been an adaptation to scarce resources, not island life like other dwarf sauropods.1

It belonged to a group called Saltasaurinae, which includes some of the smallest titanosaurs.1 2

AI-made picture of Ibirania — An AI-made picture of how Ibirania might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Ibirania

?How big was Ibirania?

About 5.7 metres (18.7 feet) long, making it one of the smallest sauropods ever found.1 2

?What did Ibirania eat?

It was a plant-eater. Its name means 'tree wanderer,' which hints that it browsed on trees and shrubs.1

?Did Ibirania have feathers?

No, it did not. Ibirania was a sauropod, and sauropods had scaly skin, not feathers.1

?Why was Ibirania so small?

Scientists think its small size was an adaptation to living in a dry, inland environment with scarce resources, not because it lived on an island.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Ibirania
Named by: Navarro et al. 20224
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Saltasauridae4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria4
Age of the rocks: 86 to 72 million years (Santonian / Campanian)4
Rock formations: São José do Rio Preto4
Countries: Brazil4
Fossil records: 3 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Ibirania was named in 2022 by Navarro and colleagues based on fossils found on a farm in Ibirá, São Paulo, Brazil. The name means 'little tree wanderer' after the town and its small size.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still studying the tiny parasites found in Ibirania's bones to figure out exactly what they were.1

Where the facts come from

Ibirania (en.wikipedia.org)
A NEW NANOID TITANOSAUR (DINOSAURIA: SAUROPODA) FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF BRAZIL | Ameghiniana (web.archive.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Ibirania in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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