Oxalaia quilombensis

Oxalaia is the first formally described dinosaur species from the Cenomanian of Brazil.

Name

Oxalaia quilombensis

Authority

Kellner, Azevedeo, Machado, Carvalho and Henriques , 2011

Meaning of generic name

The generic name comes from Oxalá, the most respected masculine deity in the African pantheon, introduced in Brazil during slavery.

[Sounds idolatrous to me ...]

Meaning of specific name

From the Portuguese expression quilombo, the place where the quilombola (the descendants of former Brazilian slaves) live. The Cajual Island, where the specimens of this new taxon were collected, is one of these places.

Size

Body length: 46 ft (14 m) ?

Remains

Holotype: MN 6117-V - a fused premaxillae.

Referred material MN 6119-V, an incomplete left maxilla. The specimen is held in the Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Alcantara Formation, Itapecuru, Group of the Sao Luís Basin, Cenomanian (early Late Cretaceous Period)

Locality: Laje do Coringa at the Cajual Island, Maranhao State (Corrêa-Martins1997), Northeast Brazil. Bone Bed.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Spinosauroidea Spinosauridae

Further Reading

Kellner, Alexander W.A.; Sergio A.K. Azevedeo, Elaine B. Machado, Luciana B. Carvalho and Deise D.R. Henriques (2011). "A new dinosaur (Theropoda, Spinosauridae) from the Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Alcântara Formation, Cajual Island, Brazil". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 83 (1): 99–108. Original description.

Image by Nobu Tamura (click to enlarge)

Oxalaia quilombensis: