Brazilian paleontologists have identified a previously unknown species of European-like vertebrate sauropod dinosaur, suggesting an ancient migration route that once connected two continents now separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
This new species of dinosaur lived about 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. At that time, much of the world’s land mass was still stitched together in the southern supercontinent Gondwana.
dubbing Dasosaurus tocantinensisthis animal was approximately 20 meters (66 feet) long.
belonged to spinea group of titanosaur-like sauropods that lived from the late Jurassic period to the end of the Cretaceous period.
partial skeleton Dasosaurus tocantinensis It was discovered in the Itapecur Formation in northeastern Brazil.
This dinosaur’s caudal vertebrae have unique three elongated ridges and grooves, and the femur has a pronounced lateral bulge, anatomical features not seen together in any previously described species.
These characteristics are Dasosaurus tocantinensis It is outside the titanosaur lineage, a subgroup of sauropods that would later dominate the southern continent.
Instead, this new species is thought to be the closest relative to the known species. Galumbachitan morelensisa species of sauropod that lived in what is now Spain about 122 million years ago.
Beyond naming a new species, the discovery strengthens the evidence that early Cretaceous South America was not an isolated evolutionary backwater.
Rather, it was part of a dynamic network of land connections that allowed dinosaurs to migrate between continents long before the Atlantic Ocean fully opened.
“As well as expanding the known diversity of Early Cretaceous sauropods in northern South America, this discovery highlights their biogeographical connections not only to Europe but also to areas in northern Gondwana,” said lead author Max Langer from the University of São Paulo and colleagues.
“In fact, numerical biogeographical analyzes suggest that a clade has formed. Dasosaurus tocantinensis and Galumbachitan morelensis It originates from Europe and its lineages include: Dasosaurus tocantinensis At some point during the Valanginian (137 to 133 million years ago) and Aptian (121 to 113 million years ago) period, they spread through North Africa to South America. ”
discovery of Dasosaurus tocantinensis reported in paper Posted on February 12th Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
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Elver L. Mayer others. 2026. A new European-like titanosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil: Insights into the phylogeny, histology, and biogeography of Somphospondyli. Journal of Systematic Paleontology 24(1);doi: 10.1080/14772019.2025.2601579