{"id":650902,"date":"2026-08-22T15:45:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/650902\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T15:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:45:17","slug":"construction-crew-uncovers-giant-20-meter-dinosaur-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/650902\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Crew Uncovers Giant 20-Meter Dinosaur in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Reconstruction<\/a>Artistic reconstruction of the new dinosaur from Maranh\u00e3o state. It was 20 meters long and had a European relative. Credit: Paleoart: Jorge Blanco<\/p>\n

Dasosaurus tocantinensis was about 20 meters long and lived roughly 120 million years ago. Its closest known relative inhabited what is now Spain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

About 120 million years ago, a 20-meter-long dinosaur roamed what is now northeastern Brazil, leaving behind fossils that would remain buried until modern construction exposed them. A new study in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology identifies those remains as a previously unknown species, Dasosaurus tocantinensis, discovered during work on a road-rail terminal in Davin\u00f3polis, Maranh\u00e3o.<\/p>\n

Its nearest known relative, viewed through an evolutionary lens, lived in the region that is now Spain. The findings point to more than the presence of a previously unknown dinosaur group in this part of Brazil. It also offers evidence of an ancient link between the European island chain of that period and what is now South America.<\/p>\n

The researchers state that the ancestors of the Maranh\u00e3o species likely reached South America through North Africa sometime between 140 and 120 million years ago, when these lands were still joined within the supercontinent Gondwana.<\/p>\n

\"Elver<\/a>Elver Mayer and a team member excavate around the fossils. Credit: Amai FotografiaA rare giant emerges<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the largest known dinosaur for Maranh\u00e3o, which has other species, but not sauropods like this one; rather, it has smaller ones, such as the diplodocid Amazonsaurus maranhensis, which was about 10 meters long,\u201d says Elver Luiz Mayer, a professor at the Federal University of the S\u00e3o Francisco Valley (UNIVASF) in the state of Bahia.<\/p>\n

Mayer, whose specialty is mammals from the far more recent Quaternary period, was contacted in 2021 while he was based in S\u00e3o F\u00e9lix do Xingu in Par\u00e1 state, where he worked as a professor at the Federal University of Southern and Southeastern Par\u00e1 (UNIFESSPA).<\/p>\n

The fossils were uncovered by archaeologists who were monitoring the Davin\u00f3polis construction site as part of the environmental licensing process. At first, the material was believed to belong to megafauna mammals that may have lived alongside early humans.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven its depth of about eight meters, I realized that it was much older. The age of the geological formation was already known from previous research and indicated that it was material from the transition from the Lower to the Upper Cretaceous, about 120 million years ago,\u201d says Mayer. He then contacted various specialists and formed a multidisciplinary group to study the specimen.<\/p>\n

\"Elver<\/a>Mayer prepares a femur fossil, approximately 1.5 meters long. Credit: Elver Mayer\/Univasf<\/p>\n

Following a long fossil preparation process, the analyses were carried out in Par\u00e1. The specimen was later returned to Maranh\u00e3o and is now kept in S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds, the state capital, at the State Center for Natural History and Archaeology Research, which also took part in the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it includes tail vertebrae, a 1.5-meter femur, ribs, foot bones, and arm and leg bones, this is considered a relatively complete specimen. We believe there are more fossils from this same specimen yet to be excavated at the site,\u201d says Max Langer, a professor at the Ribeir\u00e3o Preto School of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (FFCLRP-USP), who participated in the study.<\/p>\n

Langer leads the project \u201cExploring the Diversity of South American Cretaceous Dinosaurs and Their Associated Faunas<\/a>\u201d, which receives support from FAPESP.<\/p>\n

A name rooted in place<\/p>\n

The species name is tied to Maranh\u00e3o itself. \u201cDaso\u201d means \u201cforest,\u201d referring to the regional woodlands that early Portuguese colonizers described as a large tangle, or \u201cmaranh\u00e3o.\u201d \u201cTocantinensis,\u201d in turn, refers to the Tocantins River, as the fossil site lies near its eastern bank.<\/p>\n

Bone microstructure analyses led by researchers Tito Aureliano and Aline Ghilardi of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) showed a growth pattern that blends features seen in older sauropods with traits associated with titanosaurs, a group closely related to the newly described species.<\/p>\n

The result indicates that some patterns of growth and bone remodeling appeared earlier in dinosaur evolution than previously recognized. That insight may help clarify how certain dinosaurs were able to grow to such enormous sizes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Construction exposes fragile evidence<\/p>\n

The discovery of Dasosaurus illustrates a central tension in paleontology. Major construction projects can damage or erase fossil records, but they can also expose layers of rock that paleontologists could not easily reach with traditional hand tools alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrazil is a tropical country with dense vegetation. Geologists and paleontologists rely heavily on human activity to excavate, expose the rocks, and reveal the fossils. If we map Brazil\u2019s fossil sites, we\u2019ll see highways and quarries. These projects are important for understanding our heritage. But it\u2019s obvious that specialized monitoring and artifact recovery are necessary, which doesn\u2019t always happen,\u201d says Langer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s urgent to foster closer cooperation between the parties to reconcile construction projects with federal legislation on fossils and promote new discoveries while ensuring the proper preservation of our heritage,\u201d Mayer comments.<\/p>\n

The research group is now in discussions with the construction company about continuing excavation at the site. Additional fossils could reveal more about Dasosaurus and the broader dinosaur group to which it belonged.<\/p>\n

Reference: \u201cA new titanosauriform with European affinities in the Early Cretaceous of Brazil: insights on Somphospondyli phylogeny, histology and biogeography\u201d by Elver L. Mayer, Julian C. G. Silva Junior, Leonardo R. Kerber, Bruno A. Navarro, Kamila L. N. Bandeira, Juan C. Cisneros, Eliane P. Sousa, Agostina A. Pereira, Manuel A. Medeiros, Rafael M. Lindoso, Francisco Pedro Cavalcanti Neto, Aline M. Ghilardi, Tito Aureliano, Pedro L. Godoy, Gabriel S. Ferreira and Max C. Langer, 12 February 2026, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
DOI: 10.1080\/14772019.2025.2601579<\/a><\/p>\n

The work received support from FAPESP in the form of a doctoral scholarship, postdoctoral fellowship, and a grant under the Young Investigator modality.<\/p>\n

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