Macronaria is a
clade of
sauropod dinosaurs from the Middle
Jurassic (
Bathonian) to Late
Cretaceous Periods of what are now
North America,
South America,
Europe,
Asia,
Africa and
Australia. The name means 'large nostrils' (from scientists' reinterpretation of Greek
makros, 'long,' as 'big,' and
Latin nares, 'nostrils'), in reference to the large nasal openings high on the head that probably supported fleshy resonating chambers. Macronaria consists of a single main group,
Titanosauriformes, along with several more basal taxa. Titanosauriformes in turn contains the
brachiosaurids and the
titanosaurians and is one of the largest sauropod groups, which also contains some of the longest, tallest and most massive dinosaurs of all time.