Recently, paleontologists discovered a 98 million-year-old fossilized titanosaur skeleton in the Neuquén province of Patagonia, northwest Argentina. (Courtesy of Alejandro Otero and José Luis Carballido)
A 98-million-year-old titanosaur skeleton was recently discovered by paleontologists in the Neuquén province of Patagonia, northwest Argentina, and is believed to be the largest terrestrial animal ever found.
The fossilized remains were found by geologists in the rock layers of the Candeleros Formation in Neuquén province, more specifically in the sediments of a muddy floodplain, according to comprehensive media reports.
So far, the team has unearthed 24 caudal vertebrae and some adjacent scapulae, which experts deduce may belong to a quadrupedal titanosaur. The species is one of the largest lizard-footed animals ever discovered, characterized by its huge size, small head, pillar-like legs and long neck and tail.
The skeletal remains of a titanosaur on display at the Natural History Museum in Chicago, Illinois, USA. (Zissoudisctrucker/Wikipedia)
The research team reports that the dinosaur’s limb skeleton has been found but not yet excavated. Unfortunately, they have not unearthed long bones like the femur or humerus for now. The long bones help calculate the weight of the animal, so it is unclear how big the dinosaur was.
The team said the discovery was important because the well-preserved remains could provide detailed information about their biology, feeding patterns, circulatory systems and growth patterns, among other things.
The researchers also revealed that while it is not certain that the fossil is a new species, it cannot be classified as part of any of the known dinosaur categories at this Time, and the exact determination will have to wait for further excavations to follow.
The study is a collaboration between the Museo de La Plata, The Zapala Museum, the Museo Egidio Feruglio, the University of Rio Negro and the University of Zaragoza.
Dr. Alejandro Otero, a paleontologist at the Labrada Museum, told CNN that this is a huge dinosaur and that they hope to find more bones in future excavations in order to accurately arrive at its exact specifications.
However, when comparing this discovery with previously known dinosaurs, experts believe that this newly discovered animal may be comparable in size to the Patagonian Titanosaurus, or even a bit larger.
A restored view of the Life of two Patagonian titanosaurs at dawn. (PaleoEquii/Wikipedia)
Back in 2012, the team found a fossilized titanosaur skeleton in the Argentine province of Chubut, and the remains were later identified as a lizard-footed dinosaur, which the team named “Patagotitan.
According to team members, Patagotitan lived between 100 and 95 million years ago, weighed up to 77 tons and was 122 feet long (about 37 meters).
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