Dino card No. 1149 of 2,027

Maxakalisaurus

Say it: max-aka-li-SORE-us

Name means: “Maxakali lizard, after the Maxakali tribe of Brazil”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Maxakalisaurus was a huge, long-necked plant-eater that lived in Brazil during the Late Cretaceous. It had ridged teeth, which was unusual for sauropods, and some of its bones show teeth marks from scavengers.1

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Brazil (Minas Gerais)2 2

Food

Plants2 1

Length

13 m1

Weight

5 tonnes3

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 3 cars

as long as 3 cars parked in a rowas long as 72 bananas end to endabout as heavy as an elephantas heavy as 1000 watermelons

How big was Maxakalisaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Maxakalisaurus is known from a partial skeleton that includes skull fragments and osteoderms, which are bony plates in the skin.1

Its teeth had ridges, a feature that is rare among sauropods.1

Some of its bones have teeth marks on them, suggesting that scavengers nibbled on the carcass after it died.1

It lived about 80 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1

The tail vertebrae of Maxakalisaurus were spool-shaped, meaning they were very concave on the sides.2

One of its mid-posterior tail bones had a biconvex centrum, meaning it was rounded on both ends like a ball.2

AI-made picture of Maxakalisaurus — An AI-made picture of how Maxakalisaurus 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 Maxakalisaurus

?How big was Maxakalisaurus?

It was about 12.1 metres (40 feet) long and weighed around 5 tonnes (5.5 short tons). That is about the length of a big bus.3 1

?What did Maxakalisaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater, so it ate leaves and other plants. Its ridged teeth helped it chew tough vegetation.1 3

?Did Maxakalisaurus have bony plates in its skin?

Yes, like many titanosaurs it had osteoderms, which are bony plates embedded in the skin. These may have offered protection.3 1

?When did Maxakalisaurus live?

It lived about 80 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils were found in Brazil.3 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Maxakalisaurus
Named by: Kellner et al. 20064
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Rinconsauria4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria4
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)4
Rock formations: Adamantina4
Countries: Brazil4
Fossil records: 3 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Maxakalisaurus was named by Kellner and colleagues in 2006 based on a partial skeleton found in the Adamantina Formation of Brazil.2 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly where Maxakalisaurus fits in the sauropod family tree, with some placing it in Aeolosaurini and others in Rinconsauria.2

Where the facts come from

Maxakalisaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Maxakalisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Maxakalisaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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