Unnamed Patagonian titanosaur (2014)

Not to be confused with another recent dinosaur discovery in Argentina, Leinkupal.

File:AMNHTitanosaur.jpg

Reconstructed skeleton and fossils on display at the American Museum of Natural History, New York

File:Fósiles del titanosauria del Chubut en el Museo Egidio Feruglio de Trelew 03.JPG

Fossils at Museo Egidio Feruglio de Trelew, Chubut

An unnamed titanosaur species, found in the Patagonia region of Argentina in 2014, has been estimated to have been 40 m (130 ft) long and 20 m (65 ft) tall, with a weight of 77 tonnes. This makes it comparable to the next largest titanosaur, Argentinosaurus (which weighed 73-83 tonnes), and thus one of the largest land animals in Earth's history. The discovery was announced on 16 May 2014. The remains were initially discovered in 2011 by a farm laborer, in the desert near La Flecha, about 250 km west of Trelew. Excavation was done by palaeontologists from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio. The lead scientists on the excavation were Jose Luis Carballido and Diego Pol, with partial funding from The Jurassic Foundation. Seven partial skeletons, consisting of approximately 150 bones, were uncovered, and described as in "remarkable condition". The researchers stated:

Given the size of these bones, which surpass any of the previously known giant animals, the new dinosaur is the largest animal known that walked on Earth.

Upon its initial discovery, science writer Brian Switek cautioned that it was too early to calculate the exact size of the dinosaur. Brian had said it may be revised to 110 ft (34 m) and 50 short tons (45 t).

History

The titanosaur lived during the Late Cretaceous period, between 95 and 100 million years ago, in what was then a forested region.

See also

• Largest dinosaurs
• David Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur, BBC