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It is about Ibrania parva, a five to six meter long titanosaur, a herbivorous species known for its large neck. He is considered the first “dwarf” of the Americas.
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Bruno Navarro was responsible for the dissemination of the research – Photo: Personal archive
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The name derives from the intersection of the words Ibirá, the city where it was found, “ania “, which in Greek means” pilgrim “, and”parva “Latin word for small.
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The discovery came from a work carried out since the 1990s and published in an international scientific journal last Thursday (15).
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Dinosaur species lived within SP 80 million years ago
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In an interview with g1Bruno Navarro, paleontologist at the Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo (USP) and the main precursor of the discovery, provided details on the work done by the researchers.
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“The collections began in 1999, the year in which some fossils of the new species were found. But the material of the holotype – the individual that bears the name of the species – was discovered by Professor Dr. Marcelo Adorna Fernandes, in 2005, ”said Bruno.
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Viriato Antônio Lobo de Araújo is the Secretary of Tourism of Ibirá and was one of the volunteers of the excavations. He was responsible for finding the material in Vila Ventura, where the work took place.
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The tourism secretary participated in the excavations in 2005 – Photo: Arquivo Personal
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“Marcello explained how he did it. When I was digging, I only saw one fillet. When I started digging, I was able to find the fossil, ”explained the secretary.
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The material found by Marcelo and Viriato served as an analysis for Bruno in 2015. It was in this year that he began to notice some features of the fossil and realized that it could be of a new species.
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“When we collect some kind of fossil, we compare it with similar ones. If we notice something different, we look deeper, if it can refer to a kinship. But that’s all for analysis, ”said Bruno.
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Fibola of the new species found in 2005 – Photo: Fabiano Vidoi Iori / Disclosure
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From the work, Bruno and the researchers realized that the new species had some anatomical characteristics that were different from the others.
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One of these is that the structures of the Ibrania parva they presented a hyperpneumatization of their axial skeleton, ie hollow spaces in the vertebrae, while also preserving the remains of air pockets, used for temperature control. This type of structure is similar to birds and different from other dinosaurs.
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The structure of the vertebrae attracted the attention of researchers – Photo: Personal archive
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In addition to already showing that the species was smaller than other titanosaurs, what surprised the team is that the “dwarf” form was the first recorded in the Americas.
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“Dwarf titanosaurs have been reported since 1915 in some places in Europe. But the continent was an archipelago, so the confinement between them forced these animals to be small, due to the area and resource issue. So, our surprise was: what is a dwarf animal doing in Brazil, “said Bruno.
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Since the Ibirá region was unrelated to the sea, researchers were motivated to understand how the environment of the time affected the size of the species.
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The comparison shows the size of the species with humans – Photo: Sérgio Lages / Disclosure
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According to Bruno, one of the first reasons is that this species preferred a poor diet, such as bushes.
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Also, in the Cretaceous, when the Ibrania parva lived, the northwestern region of São Paulo was characterized by dry and prolonged seasons, as well as a very arid climate. It was this hostile environment that selected the small herbivorous dinosaurs.
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“Small animals would have greater tolerance, because they needed fewer resources and could keep themselves in specific plant shelters. In other words, with a smaller size, the chances of surviving in these environments were greater, ”he explains.
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Other discoveries and historical significance
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Femur of a titanosaur found in the northwestern region of Sao Paulo – Photo: Marcos Lavezo / G1
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Ibirá was once the scene of discoveries of other dinosaur species. One of these was Thanos Simonattoi, a carnivorous species, whose fossil was found in the municipality in 2018.
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For this reason Viriato said that the municipality already has plans to set up its own museum in the city, in particular in Vila Ventura, where most of the fossils are found.
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“We have filed a request in the state of São Paulo to transform a disused school building into a city museum, also as a means of increasing tourism in the region,” he says.
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See the dinosaurs discovered in the region
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Titanosaurus: it was a herbivore over 20 meters long. The fossils have been found throughout the northwestern region of São Paulo, being the largest collection in the museum. It had an elongated neck and tail, it wandered all over the region in search of food.
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Megaraptor: acarnivorous animal and was about 10 meters high. Fossils of a vertebra and possible teeth have been found in the Ibirá region. It was the top of the region’s food chain and had powerful claws.
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Thanos Simonattoi: A distant relative of the T-Rex, it was about 5 meters tall and was a carnivore. Vertebra fossil found in Ibirá. It had very short front legs.
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Maniraptor: another carnivorous animal and was about two meters long. Unlike other dinosaurs, this one was covered in feathers. Teeth and vertebrae were found throughout the region.
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Other animals: in addition to dinosaurs, other types of animals also lived in the region, such as prehistoric fish and crocodiles, such as baurussuquid, peirosaurid and sphagesaurid.
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Titanosaurus (long neck), megaraptor, maniraptor (small in front), crocodiles and Thanos: animals that lived within SP 80 million years ago – Photo: Marcos Lavezo / G1
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More news from the region on g1 Rio Preto and Araçatuba
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VIDEO: watch TV TEM reports
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