| Oxalaia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Alexander Vieira's reconstruction of Oxalaia quilombensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Spinosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Spinosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Oxalaia Kellner et al., 2011 |
| Referred species | |
| |
Oxalaia is a genus of large spinosaurid theropod dinosaur, which lived in late Cretaceous Brazil during the Cenomanian age. The type and only species of Oxalaia is O. quilombensis. The animal superficially resembles one of its closest relatives Spinosaurus, but has enough physical differences in morphology to be considered its own genus.
Discovery and naming[]
The only known Oxalaia fossil
The theropod's name; Oxalaia; is a reference to the African deity Oxala.
All known Fossils of Oxalaia recovered in 2004 from the Laje do Coringa locality of the Alcantara Formation, from the São Luís Basin; part of the Itapecuru Group. Besides these bone fragments, numerous instances of spinosaurid teeth had earlier been reported from the site. The genus was named by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Sergio A.K. Azevedeo, Elaine B. Machado, Luciana B. Carvalho and Deise D.R. Henriques in 2011 and the type species is Oxalaia quilombensis. [1]
The specific name quilombensis refers to the Quilombo settlements, such as on Cajual Island, which was founded by escaped slaves.
Description[]
Estimates suggest that it was 11.9 to 14.5 meters (39 to 46 ft) in length and 5.5 to 7 tonnes (5.5 to 7.7 short tons) in weight. It is the largest theropod known from Brazil and the eighth officially named species of theropod from Brazil. In 2018; several known fossils, albeit not all, are destroyed by fire that happened on the National History Museum of Brazil.
Classification[]
Oxalaia has been formally placed in the family Spinosauridae and the subfamily Spinosaurinae thanks to its unique jaw and teeth morphology.
It was once speculated that Oxalaia might potentially be a subspecies of Spinosaurus aeygyptecus but is currently considered very unlikely due to higher geographic distance.
However in 2020, a publication has contributed to possibility that the Oxalaia being a synonym to Spinosaurus; albeit more research on the topic is necessary before the final conclusion.
Ecology[]
Oxalaia's dietary preference was similar to known Spinosaurid species, such as Irritator; a generalist carnivore. It will eat any source of meat but likely had preference for animals around water.
In the Media[]
- It’s possible that the Spinosaurid pronounced & identified as an Empirosaur in Terra Nova might be an adult Oxalaia. Since the Horned Carnotaurus also Featured In the show, was also a theropod that lived in South America.
Gallery[]
Oxalaia/Gallery