The brand-new dinosaur types lived about 120 million years back throughout the Early Cretaceous date, when much of the world’s landmass was still sewn together in the southern supercontinent Gondwana.

Called Dasosaurus tocantinensisthe animal determined around 20 m (66 feet) in length.

It came from Somphospondyli, a group of titanosauriform sauropods that lived from the Late Jurassic up until completion of the Cretaceous duration.

A partial skeleton of Dasosaurus tocantinensis was discovered in the Itapecuru Formation in northeastern Brazil.

The dinosaur’s tail vertebrae bear a special trine lengthened ridges and grooves, while the thigh bone reveals a noticable lateral bulge– physiological signatures not seen together in any formerly explained types.

These qualities put Dasosaurus tocantinensis outside the titanosaur family tree, the subgroup of sauropods that would later on control the southern continents.

Rather, the brand-new types seems the closest recognized relative of Garumbatitan morellensisa sauropod types that resided in what is now Spain around 122 million years back.

Beyond calling a brand-new types, the discovery reinforces proof that Early Cretaceous South America was not a separated evolutionary backwater.

Rather, it became part of a vibrant network of land connections that permitted dinosaurs to move in between continents long before the Atlantic Ocean totally opened.

“Apart from broadening the recognized variety of Early Cretaceous sauropods in the northern part of South America, this discovery highlights biogeographical connections with more northern Gondwanan locations, in addition to Europe,” stated lead author Dr. Max Langer from the Universidade de São Paulo and associates.

“In reality, mathematical biogeographical analyses recommend that the clade formed by Dasosaurus tocantinensis and Garumbatitan morellensis had an European origin, with the family tree consisting of Dasosaurus tocantinensis distributing to South America through northern Africa at some time in between the Valanginian (137-133 million years ago) and Aptian (121-113 million years ago).”

The discovery of Dasosaurus tocantinensis was reported in a paper released February 12 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology

_____

Elver L. Mayer et al2026. A brand-new titanosauriform with European affinities in the Early Cretaceous of Brazil: insights on Somphospondyli phylogeny, histology and biogeography. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 24 (1 ); doi: 10.1080/ 14772019.2025.2601579