DASOSAURUS
a somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil.
Pronunciation: DAH-so-SOR-us
Meaning: Forest lizard
Author/s: Mayer
et al. (
2026)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Maranhão, Brazil
Acta Ordinal: #1222
Dasosaurus tocantinensis
(Forest Lizard from Tocantina)Etymology
Dasosaurus is derived from the Greek "dasos" (forest)—in reference to the type locality in Amazônia Legal, a division of Brazil that includes the majority of the Amazon rainforest, and "sauros" (lizard).
The
species epithet,
tocantinensis, is derived from "Tocantina" (for the Região Tocantina, the Tocantina Region, that includes Maranhão and neighboring areas of Tocantins and Pará), and the Latin "ensis" from).
Discovery
The remains of
Dasosaurus were discovered in the Itapecuru Formation, Davinópolis municipality, Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil, by archeologist Daniel Ribeiro da Silva, during earthmoving work for the construction of a railway terminal in April 2021.
The
holotype (CPHNAM VT 1600) includes ribs, a lower arm, finger bones, a partial pelvic girdle, a thigh, a shin, a calf, and at least ten disarticulated tail vertebrae.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Early Cretaceous
Stage: Aptian
Age range: 121-113 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: 20 meters
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: 20 tons
Diet: Herbivore
References
• Cardoso R (2021) "Fóssil de possível titanossauro é achado no Maranhão" [Possible titanossauro fossil in Maranhão].
G1. Maranhão. (in Brazilian Portuguese).
• Cardoso R (2025) "Fósseis do maior dinossauro do Maranhão são expostos em São Luís" [Fossils of the largest dinosaurs in Maranhão are on display in São Luís].
G1. Maranhão. (in Brazilian Portuguese).
• Mayer EL, Silva Junior JCG, Kerber L, Navarro BA, Bandeira KLN, Cisneros JC, Sousa EP, Pereira AA, Medeiros MA, Lindoso RM, Cavalcanti Neto FP, Ghilardi AM, Aureliano T, Godoy PL, Ferreira GS and Langer MC (2026) "A new titanosauriform with European affinities in the Early Cretaceous of Brazil: insights on Somphospondyli phylogeny, histology and biogeography".
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 24: 2601579. DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2025.2601579.
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To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
DASOSAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
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http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/DASOSAURUS›. Web access: 18th Aug 2026.
