A new giant dinosaur species discovered in Brazil is related to another one discovered in Spain.

An employee works at the excavation site where dinosaur bones were found in Davinopolis, Maranhao state, Brazil, April 28, 2021. Giovani de Toledo Viecili

doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2601579
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Brazilian scientists have identified a new species of giant dinosaur that lived approximately 120 million years ago

Called Dasosaurus tocantinensis, this animal is one of the largest ever found in the country and belongs to the group of sauropods, those long-necked dinosaurs that fed on plants.

The fossils were discovered in 2021 during infrastructure work near the city of Davinópolis, in Maranhão, in northeastern Brazil.

The research was led by Elver Mayer of the Federal University of the São Francisco Valley, with the participation of other paleontologists, such as Leonardo Kerber.

Among the pieces found is a femur approximately 1.5 meters long.

Based on this, experts estimate that the animal reached approximately 20 meters in total length-equivalent to the length of two articulated buses together.

The name Dasosaurus tocantinensis refers to the region where the remains were found, including the Tocantins River, which runs nearby.

The study was recently published in the scientific journal Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

What makes this discovery even more interesting is its connection to prehistoric Europe.

Analyses showed that this dinosaur is a close relative of another species, Garumbatitan morellensis, discovered in Spain.

This indicates that, at that time, there were land routes connecting parts of South America, Africa, and Europe-before the Atlantic Ocean fully opened and separated these continents.

This connection allowed groups of giant herbivorous dinosaurs to spread between these territories about 130 million years ago.

The new species helps to better understand how these animals migrated and how the continents were joined in the distant past.

Published in 03/14/2026 02h30

Portuguese version

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