Giant tooth helps reconstruct dinosaur story – 10/19/2023 – Science

The largest titanosaur tooth in the world was found in Minas Gerais, in Serra da Galga. The dental fossil, attributed by researchers to a Uberabatitan riberoithe “Titan of Uberaba”, measures 6.1 cm, is well preserved and should help to reconstruct part of the history of dinosaurs in the country and the region’s fauna.

The largest morphotype recorded before was 5.6 cm and was excavated in Argentina. In total, three giant teeth were discovered from different fossil regions in the city of Uberaba, including the largest one, located close to BR-050.

The study on the teeth was developed by researchers from the Dinosaur Museum at the Federal College of Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM) in partnership with the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), at the University of São Paulo (USP).

The other two teeth found are 4.38 cm and 2.39 cm and are attributed to young titanosaurs. Since the 1940s, Uberaba has had great prominence in paleontology due to the existence of two geological formations favorable to the preservation of fossils in the city’s topography.

“Hence the large quantity of fossils discovered there. Of course, none of this would be of any use if there wasn’t a museum in the region, responsible for carrying out frequent collections”, says paleontologist Julian Silva Júnior. The museum in question was founded in the 1990s, and was later associated with UFTM, responsible for maintaining research.

The find was the subject of Silva Júnior’s doctorate at USP, who works on the evolution of titanosaurs and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Ilha Solteira Paleontology and Evolution Laboratory, at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp).

The most important fact revealed by the dental fossils of this species, however, according to the author, is the so-called “paleoenvironment” information, which reconstitutes the habitat where these animals lived.

“In this case, we have information such as that chicks and adults shared the same environment and that they fed on similar plants. Added to the fact that we already have fossil nests previously found in Uberaba, we know that it was an environment that could support a large fauna of titanosaurs”, evaluates the researcher.

A dinosaur’s teeth reveal information such as the type of vegetation that this animal consumed and whether young people and adults ate similarly or whether there was enough vegetation to support giants of this size. When found without major wear on the enamel or with missing parts, as was the case in Uberaba, it is possible to say, for example, that the animals ate softer plants.

The dental fossils in the study were found in recent years, but the analysis of the material was only completed and published now in 2023. The information is expected to help scientists from around the world recount the life history of these animals.

You Uberabatitans They are from the group of dinosaurs of the sauropod lineage and are considered the largest known Brazilian dinosaurs. The researchers say that these dinos lived in the region of the Uberabense archaeological site of Peirópolis in the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago).

They were quadrupeds, herbivores and had long necks and tails, with the largest individuals reaching 26 meters. “We don’t know which animal this tooth belongs to. [gigante] belonged, as he was found isolated. In this case, in the region on BR-050, where the tooth was excavated, only the Uberabatitan ribeiroi and, therefore, we are associating the tooth with this species”, said the paleontologist.

There is no prediction of when and if the teeth will be put on public display, but the fossils are already part of the listed collection of the Peirópolis Museum, which has rotating collections. “Nothing prevents them from being exposed at some point,” says Silva Junior.

The researcher has continued the study of titanosaurs from Minas Gerais and his next publications should address issues involving gigantism and the way these dinosaurs walk.

In addition to dinosaur fossils, Uberaba has also revealed fossils of crocodiles and other reptiles dating from 80 million to 65 million years ago.