The fossilized bones of a dinosaur believed to be the largest animal ever to appear on earth, 40m long and 20m high, have been found in Argentina.
At 77 tons, it weighed as much as 14 African elephants and 7 tons heavier than the previously believed largest animal, the Argentinosaurus.
A bone of a newly discovered dinosaur fossil.
Scientists believe this is a new species of giant dinosaur – a herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the late Cretaceous period.
A local farmer stumbled across the fossilized dinosaur bones in the desert near La Flecha, about 250km west of Trelew, Patagonia.
A team of paleontologists from the Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum, led by Dr. Jose Luis Carballido and Dr. Diego Pol, then proceeded to excavate the fossils.
A total of 150 bones from 7 individuals were found.
They found the incomplete skeletons of seven individuals – about 150 pieces in total, all in relatively intact condition.
By measuring the length and girth of the largest femur, paleontologists believe that this dinosaur weighed 77 tons.
“Based on the size of the bones, which are larger than any known giant animal before, the dinosaur is the largest animal ever to appear on earth,” the researchers said.
“The length from head to tail is 40m. Its height is about 20m, equivalent to a 7-story building,” the researchers added.
The area where dinosaur bone fossils were found.
The new dinosaur has not yet been named.
“It will be named for its size and to remember both the region and the local farmers who alerted us to the find,” the scientists said.
Before that, there were many competitors for the title of “the largest dinosaur in the world”.
The newly discovered dinosaur species resembles the Argentinosaurus dinosaur (pictured).
Argentinosaurus is believed to be the largest dinosaur in the world today, also discovered in Patagonia.
Argentinosaurus was originally believed to have weighed about 100 tons but was later said to weigh around 70 tons, 7 tons less than the newly discovered dinosaur.
