Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

Brazilian scientists have discovered a new species of giant dinosaur closely related to a similar animal found in Spain, providing fresh evidence of ancient land connections between South America, Africa, and Europe around 120 million years ago, AzerNEWS reports.

The species, named Dasosaurus tocantinensis, is considered one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered in Brazil. Its description was published this month in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

The fossils were uncovered in 2021 during infrastructure work near Davinópolis, in the northeastern state of Maranhão. Among the remains, researchers found a thigh bone measuring about 1.5 meters, which helped estimate the dinosaur’s total length at roughly 20 meters.

“As the excavation continued, we began to uncover parts of this massive bone—a femur—which clearly indicated the animal was enormous,” said Leonardo Kerber from the Federal University of Santa Maria, who took part in the study. “We now know that Dasosaurus is among the largest dinosaurs ever found in Brazil.”

Further analysis shows that this species is the closest known relative of Garumbatitan morellensis, which was discovered in Spain. Scientists believe their common ancestors originated in Europe and later spread to what is now South America around 130 million years ago, likely traveling through North Africa before the Atlantic Ocean fully opened.

The name “Dasosaurus tocantinensis” reflects the region where it was found, particularly the nearby Tocantins River, one of the major waterways in the area.

Interestingly, discoveries like this help scientists reconstruct how continents once fit together as part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. Finds of related species on different continents act like “biological clues,” showing how dinosaurs migrated long before the continents drifted apart into their current positions.