Biggest-ever dinosaur fossils found

Weighing more than 14 African elephants and stretching up to 40 metres long, the fossilised remains of a Titanosaur found in Argentina have paleontologists understandably excited. 

Handout picture released on May 17, 2014 by the Egidio Feruglio Palaeontological Museum showing a
technician next to a dinosaur fossil – likely to be the largest ever to roam the earth – in Chubut, some 1,300 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. AFP PHOTO / Museo Egidio Feruglio

Fossils of 'largest' dinosaur found in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, AFP — Palaeontologists in Argentina's remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of what may be the largest dinosaur ever, amid a vast cache of fossils that could shed light on prehistoric life.

The creature is believed to be a new species of Titanosaur, a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod that walked on four legs and lived some 90 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period.

Researchers say the plant-eating dinosaur weighed the equivalent of more than 14 African elephants, or about 100 tonnes, and stretched up to 40 meters in length.

The previous record holder, also in Argentina, the Argentinosaurus, was estimated to measure 36.6 meters long.

A fossilised femur of the Titanosaur was larger than a palaeontologist who lay next to it.

And the find didn't stop there.

Bones from at least seven individual dinosaurs, including some believed to be younger, were found at the site.

This is "the most complete discovery of this type of giant dinosaur in the world, a momentous discovery for science," cheered Jose Luis Carballido, one of eight scientists who participated in the research.

The fossils were accidentally discovered in 2011 by a farm worker in a remote area in the Patagonian province of Chubut, some 1,300 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.

Palaeontologists in Argentina's remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of a creature is believed to be a new species of Titanosaur, a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod that walked on four legs and lived some 95 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period. AFP PHOTO / Museo Egidio Feruglio

The worker first spotted a massive leg bone, measuring some 2.4 meters in length.

Excavations launched in January 2013 also uncovered complete bones of the tail, torso and neck – which will allow for a fuller picture of what the entire animal looked like when alive.

Carballido, part of a team of Argentine and Spanish researchers, said the group had uncovered "10 vertebrae of the torso, 40 from the tail, parts of the neck and complete legs."

Even more bones may yet appear.

So far, "we have only recovered an estimated 20 percent of what's in the field," said Carballido.

In addition to the skeletal remains, fossil imprints of leaves and stems have been found, which could help researchers rebuild the ecosystem at the time.