'World's biggest dinosaur' discovered in Argentina

[ford man xf]

'World's biggest dinosaur' discovered in Argentina


Paleontologists in Argentina say they recently discovered fossils belonging to the largest dinosaur on record. During its lifetime, the new species of titanosaur is believed to have stood 65-feet-tall, was more than 130-feet-long, and weighed 77 tons (177,000 pounds).

"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," researchers Dr. Jose Luis Carballido and Dr. Diego Pol told the BBC.


A technician lies next to the femur of a dinosaur at the Egidio Feruglio Museum in Argentina's Patagonian city of Trelew, in this photo provided by Telam on May 16, 2014. Paleontologists have unearthed in Argentina what they say is the largest set of remains of a dinosaur ever found to date. According to paleontologists from the renowned Egidio Feruglio Museum, Jose Luis Carballido and Ruben Cuneo, the fossils are that of a sauropod and preliminary tests dates the fossils at some 90 million years old. Photo: REUTERS/Telam/Museo Egidio Feruglio


Its enormous length was spread out across a long neck and tail, with a relatively small skull. To put the newly discovered titanosaur’s enormous size in context, a T-Rex weighed about 7 tons.

The fossils were first spotted by a local farm worker in 2011 and were fully excavated by a team from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio led by Carballido and Pol. The fossils, taken from seven different titanosaurs, were described as being in “remarkable condition.”

"Standing with its neck up, it was about 20m high -- equal to a seven-story building." Carballido said.

Despite its overwhelming size, the giant titanosaur, belonging to the larger sauropod group of dinosaurs, is believed to have been a herbivore, roaming through the forests of the Cretaceous Period about 100 million years ago.

“This is a true paleontological treasure,” Carbailido said in a statement.


Paleontologists Jose Luis Carballido (L) and Ruben Cuneo pose next to the bones of a dinosaur at a farm in La Flecha, west of the Argentina's Patagonian city of Trelew, May 16, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Daniel Feldman


Carballido and Pol said in choosing a name for the newly discovered species, the researchers want to honor both the historic size of the fossils but also the farming community that first stumbled upon the remains.

"It will be named describing its magnificence and in honor to both the region and the farm owners who alerted us about the discovery," they said.

This was the second major titanosaur find in 2014. Back in January, a team of Pennsylvania scientists uncovered fossils belonging to the Yongjinglong datangi during an excavation in China.

Carbaillido and Pol say the 150 fossils were found in close proximity to other species, including carnivores. They say the unusual placement means the dinosaurs likely died in a draught, either due to dehydration or after getting stuck in the mud.

"It's like two semi trucks, one after another, and the equivalent of more than 14 African elephants together in weight," Carballido said. "Such dimensions put the focus on the extent to which these animals may have grown. It's a real paleontological treasure," he added.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/23616497...ur-discovered/

[creative]

Godzilla lives!


Or lived...

[Lotte]

I read about this this morning. I'm not so sure about the "biggest" factor, as a few dinosaurs carried a hell of a lot more weight than that, dimensions wise they were shorter, but barely. Exciting stuff. Argentinosaurus might lose his place as largest sauropod.

Holy **** I'm a nerd

[ford man xf]

I've never understood why dinosaurs needed to be so huge and what drove this size.

[CoupeKing]

One of the reasons could be so they could reach the top of the canopy for food. Similar to Giraffes.

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by CoupeKing

One of the reasons could be so they could reach the top of the canopy for food. Similar to Giraffes.

That theory is actually a fallacy as female Giraffes are shorter than males, before genetics was discovered and fully understood this was one of the examples used to support evolution, it's one of those Darwin type theories that still exist despite being disproven.

[commonrails]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

I've never understood why dinosaurs needed to be so huge and what drove this size.

Possibly the same reason why we humans have gained on average four inches in height in 150 years, nutritional food.

[CoupeKing]

Originally Posted by commonrails

Possibly the same reason why we humans have gained on average four inches in height in 150 years, nutritional food.

And the North Korean`s have shrunk 1-2 inches for lack of.

[Work Horse]

My mistake, I thought someone in Argentina was still listening to Jimi Hendrix....







Not that there is anything wrong with that!

[Lotte]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

I've never understood why dinosaurs needed to be so huge and what drove this size.

Most supported theory is diet and digestion requirements, combined with the herbivores growing in size to protect themselves from the carnivores, thus making the carnivores evolve and the cycle continued.

[CoupeKing]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

That theory is actually a fallacy as female Giraffes are shorter than males, before genetics was discovered and fully understood this was one of the examples used to support evolution, it's one of those Darwin type theories that still exist despite being disproven.

Well fair enough. Disregard the Giraffe part. Guess they already had long necks and thought what the heck, lets **** these birds off by eating all the foliage that supports their nests.

Some of the bigger Herbivore`s didnt have any natural predators. Would die more often than not from starvation. Once they stop producing teeth, and wore them out from constant grinding, it was game over, like the common Elephant we see today...carnivores dream coming across them.

[Geez Louise]

I thought going off the title, this was a thread on the Leyland P76!

Cheers
Col

[Crazy Dazz]

[2011G6E]

Bazinga...

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by Lotte

Most supported theory is diet and digestion requirements, combined with the herbivores growing in size to protect themselves from the carnivores, thus making the carnivores evolve and the cycle continued.

Lack of predecessor fossils often makes these theories hard to prove.

[Lotte]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

Lack of predecessor fossils often makes these theories hard to prove.

Except the first known dinosaurs were not only bipedal predators, but 1-2m long.
Some of these evolved to be able to eat plant matter; and the lineage diversified in the early triassic period as different lineages branched off and developed different characteristics. These characteristics included different sizes to contend with differing terrain (dinosaurs conquered all terrain variables) and other extraneous factors (food availability, predator avoidance etc).