Brazilian researchers found three titanosaur tooth fossils, a kind of dinosaur herbivore. Among them is the largest tooth of the species ever recorded in the world.
The component belongs to the Uberabatitan, herbivorous dinosaurs that lived in the Cretaceous period (more than 65 million years ago). The animals roamed Peirópolis, a paleontological site in Uberaba, in Minas Gerais.
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The discovery of these fossils helps to trace the way of life of these animals, in addition to trying to understand what the vegetation and fauna of the place were like.
The largest titanosaur tooth in existence. (Image: Reproduction / Jornal USP)
The Dinosaur Museum of the Federal Faculty of Triângulo Mineiro, in partnership with the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters at USP, in Ribeirão Preto, (FFCLRP) discovered that several tooth fossils were located in the city.
With this, they were able to define them into different morphotypes, reaching the conclusion that they correspond to young titanosaurs and an adult — this is the largest ever recorded.
It is possible to understand what type of vegetation they ate by the natural wear of their teeth — with few risks, it is possible that they ate softer plants.
This gives more information about the region at the time, with vegetation that could feed titanosaur offspring and adults.
It is also possible to retrace the entire environment and behavior, in addition to what we have already said above, just by analyzing the teeth found.
(Image: Reproduction / Jornal da USP)
(Image: Reproduction / Jornal da USP)
Peirópolis, one of the first paleontological sites in the country, is located in the Serra da Galga region. In that place, they already found, in addition to fossils of dinosaurs, reptiles such as crocodiles, dating back more than 80 million years.
According to Julian Silva Júnior, doctor at the FFCLRP Paleontology Laboratory, when a new fossil is found, “we try to compare it with other fossils in the region; If there is no similar fossil, we compare it with animals that are similar in other parts of the world. world to try to see if it is a species that is already known or if it is a new species”, explains the researcher.
