biology

Maxakalisaurus

Maxakalisaurus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Maxakalisaurus rather than just read about it. In short: Maxakalisaurus is a genus of titanosaur dinosaur, found in the Adamantina Formation of Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais in 1998. The genus name is derived from the tribe of the Maxakali; Topa is one of their divinities.

Key takeaways

Maxakalisaurus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Maxakalisaurus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Maxakalisaurus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Maxakalisaurus is a genus of titanosaur dinosaur, found in the Adamantina Formation of Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais in 1998. The genus name is derived from the tribe of the Maxakali; Topa is one of their divinities.

Discovery and naming Over the course of four field seasons, from 1998 to 2002, the National Museum of Brazil excavated a partial skeleton of a titanosaur along the Campina Verde - Prata road, 45 km to the west of Prata, Minas Gerais. In 2006, a team led by Alexander W. A. Kellner described the remains as a new genus and species of sauropod, Maxakalisaurus topai. The genus name honors the Maxakali, an ethnic group indigenous to the region, and the species name refers to the Maxakali deity Topa.

Fossil record

Fossils of Maxakalisaurus topai are known from the Adamantina Formation. The holotype, MN 5013-V, was housed at the National Museum of Brazil. It included a fragmentary right maxilla with teeth, twelve cervical vertebrae and some cervical ribs, seven dorsal vertebrae and some dorsal ribs, a neural spine and centrum from the sacrum, six caudal vertebrae, some haemal arches, pieces of the scapulae, both sternal plates, part of the left ischium, both humeri, two metacarpals, part of the fibula, an osteoderm, and some unidentified pieces. Two other sternal plates and part of a third scapula were also found at the site, and are considered to belong to a second individual. Some of the elements from the type locality pertained to an adult individual and others pertained to a subadult individual. A partial dentary and some teeth were subsequently recovered from the type locality and are also considered to belong to M. topai. Some elements of the holotype were lost in the National Museum of Brazil fire on 2 September 2018, but several elements survived the fire and were recovered.

Description Maxakalisaurus is considered a medium-sized titanosaur. The type specimen of Maxakalisaurus belonged to an animal about 12.1 meters (40 feet) long, with an estimated weight of 5 tonnes (5.5 short tons). It had a long neck and tail, ridged teeth (unusual among sauropods) and lived about 80 million years ago. Because sauropods seem to have lacked significant competition in South America, they evolved there with greater diversity and more unusual traits than elsewhere in the world. Like many other titanosaurs, Maxakalisaurus had osteoderms.

Classification França et al.'s 2016 description of the second specimen also included a phylogenetic analysis, which placed Maxakalisaurus as a basal member of the Aeolosaurini. Their cladogram is shown below:

References

Santucci, R. M. & Bertini, R.J. (2006). "A large sauropod titanosaur from Peirópolis, Bauru Group, Brazil." N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Mh., 2006: 344–360; Stuttgart.

External links Brazil's Biggest Dinosaur Unveiled - LiveScience.com

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Maxakalisaurus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Maxakalisaurus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Maxakalisaurus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Maxakalisaurus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Maxakalisaurus

In research: Maxakalisaurus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Maxakalisaurus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Maxakalisaurus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Adamantina Formation, Dinosaur genera, Dinosaurs of Brazil, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Maxakalisaurus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Maxakalisaurus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Maxakalisaurus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Maxakalisaurus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maxakalisaurus in simple terms?

Why does Maxakalisaurus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Maxakalisaurus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Maxakalisaurus.