Oxalaia is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now the Northeast Region of Brazil during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period. Its only known fossils were found in 1999 on Cajual Island in the rocks of the Alcântara Formation. It is closely related to the African genus Spinosaurus, andor may be a junior synonym of this taxon.
About Oxalaia in brief
Oxalaia is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now the Northeast Region of Brazil during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, sometime between 100. 5 and 93. 9 million years ago. Its only known fossils were found in 1999 on Cajual Island in the rocks of the Alcântara Formation. Oxalaia quilombensis is the eighth officially named theropod species from Brazil and the largest carnivorous dinosaur discovered there. It is closely related to the African genus Spinosaurus, andor may be a junior synonym of this taxon. In 2018, a fire engulfed the palace housing the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, possibly destroying the specimens along with various other fossils found in Brazil. Besides partial skull bones, numerous spinosaurus teeth were found at the Maranhão National Museum and were housed at the Museum of Natural History of Brazil. The fossil record ofspinosaurids is poor compared to those of other theropods; very few body fossils are known and most genera have been erected from isolated elements such as vertebra or teeth. The holotype specimen of OxalaIA quilomboensis, designated MN 6VV, was found in situ with part of the left side embedded in the rock matrix; it consists of one individual, premaxillae,117-117-VV. An isolated and incomplete maxilla fragment was referred to Oxalaian because it showed the same general traits occurring in spinosurids, the maxilla was discovered on the rock surface, having moved from its original location after erosion.
The species name refers to the Brazilian quilsomas, which are believed to be the origin of the word “oxala” or “oxalia” in the Latin word for “crocodile” The fossil was discovered in 1999 in the Laje do Coringa, a formation of sedimentary rocks in the São Luís-Grajaú Basin, in northeastern Brazil. It consists of teeth and isolated skeletal elements, of which the site has yielded hundreds. The bones were found on the northern coast of the formation, along with conglomerate rock layers containing fossil plant and vertebrate fragments. The finding was a rare occurrence due to the erosive nature of the tides at the deposit, which were responsible for the fragmented state of most fossils in the bone bed. The rock layers were deposited under marine and fluvial conditions similar to that of the Bahariya Formation in Egypt, where Sp dinosaurus remains have been found. As a spinos Saurid, the traits of Oxalia’s skull and dentition indicate a partly piscivorous lifestyle like that of modern crocodilians. Fossil evidence suggests spinosauroids also preyed on other animals such as small dinosaurs and pterosaurs. The fossils were discovered in the Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group of the Araripe Basin.
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This page is based on the article Oxalaia published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
