Remains Unearthed In Argentina Could Be From Largest Dinosaur That Ever Lived

Palaeontologists (dinosaur scientists, Ross Geller, etc) have discovered the remains of a dinosaur believed to have lived 98 million years ago in Argentina - and it could be the largest dinosaur that ever lived.

The team published their findings after coming across what has been identified as the remains of a Titanosaurs sauropod in 2012, and in 2015 and 2016 the excavation started in the eastern Argentine province of Neuquen.

Alejandro Otero/Real Press

Experts from Conicet (National Scientific and Technical Research Council) worked on the project, including Dr Alejandro Otero, a researcher from the La Plata Museum.

Dr Otero said: "We were looking for remains of sauropods and we came across this animal."

So far, 24 bones from tail vertebrae have been found as well as bones from the hip and scapula (shoulder type bones).

This discovery is important because the remains, which are well preserved, could yield clues and further information about how these dinosaurs lived, including regarding their biology, how they fed, their circulatory system and how they grew.

Despite the size of the dinosaur being unclear, the expert has said this new one is 'definitely one of the biggest'.

Jose Luis Carbadillo/Real Press

Dr Otero went on: "Sadly, we do not have long bones, like a femur or humerus, which are fundamental to calculate the animal's weight as the estimations of the body-mass are based on circles in the long bones.

"If the discovered fossils are compared with bones equivalent to known dinosaurs like the Patagotitan, which is another very big sauropod found in the province of Chubut, we can do an estimation of its size.

"We can already see that the new ones are a bit bigger, around 10 or 20 percent, than the Patagotitan mayorum bones."

Jose Luis Carbadillo/Real Press

The expert continued: "This indicates to us that this new animal might have had an equivalent size to the Patagotitan or it could have been even bigger," although he insisted that 'without having the long bones it is difficult to compare them'. The Patagotitan was 35 metres (114 feet) long.

So far, the dinosaur found in the area has not been officially named as there are still elements to be unearthed.

Interestingly Dr Otero explained 'it could be a new species of dinosaur unknown until now,' but insisted that more research is needed to determine this with certainty.

Topics: News, Dinosaurs, Animals

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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