A new dinosaur (Theropoda, Spinosauridae) from the Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Alcântara Formation, Cajual Island, Brazil

Kellner,Alexander WA.; Azevedo,Sergio A.K.; Machado,Elaine B.; Carvalho,Luciana B. de; Henriques,Deise D.R.

A new dinosaur (Theropoda, Spinosauridae) from the Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Alcântara Formation, Cajual Island, Brazil

2011

Kellner,Alexander WA. | Azevedo,Sergio A.K. | Machado,Elaine B. | Carvalho,Luciana B. de | Henriques,Deise D.R.

A new spinosaurid taxon, Oxalaia quilombensis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on the anterior part of a snout and a fragment of a maxilla. These specimens were collected at the Laje do Coringa site, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of the São Luis Basin. Unlike Cristatusaurus and Suchomimus, Oxalaia quilombensis lacks serrations on the teeth. The new species differs from Angaturama limai by having the anterior part of the premaxillae more expanded and by lacking a sagittal premaxillary crest. It further differs from Spinosaurus cf. S. aegyptiacus and the Algerian spinosaurid by the rounder shape of the terminal expansion. Furthermore, xalaia quilobensis has one functional tooth followed by two replacement teeth, a feature not previously observed in theropods. Oxalaia quilombensis appears to be more closely related to the spinosaurids found in North Africa than to the Brazilian members of this clade and thus further increases the diversity of these enigmatic predatory dinosaurs in this country.

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