A titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) osteoderm from the Alcântara Formation (Cenomanian), São Luís Basin, Northeastern Brazil

•We describe a keeled titanosaur osteoderm from the São Luís Basin, Northeast Brazil.•This osteoderm has an external bulb, an internal root, and a very rugose cingulum.•Armored titanosaurs were present during the Cretaceous of Northeastern Brazil.•This is one of the oldest occurrences of this kind of dermal bone known to date.

Among titanosaurs, osteoderms are morphologically diverse and have been reported from deposits in South America, Africa, Madagascar, Eurasia and Oceania. In Brazil, titanosaur osteoderms are rare and have only been recorded from Bauru Basin sedimentary rocks. Here, we describe a keeled titanosaur osteoderm, which is the first occurrence of an osteoderm specimen in the São Luís Basin, Northeastern Brazil. This osteoderm is characterized by an external bulb, an internal root, and a very rugose cingulum limiting the external and internal surfaces. These characteristics are typical of Titanosauria dermal bones, and this specimen strengthens the idea that the armored sauropods were present during the early Late Cretaceous of Northeastern Brazil, extending their distribution in the northernmost portion of South America.