The Biggest Dinosaur Ever Has Just Been Discovered. It Likely Weighed Nearly 170,000 Pounds

May 17, 2014

Via BBC News

Fossilized bones of a dinosaur believed to be the largest creature ever to walk the Earth have been unearthed in Argentina, paleontologists say.

BBC

Based on its huge thigh bones, it was 130ft long and 65ft tall.

Weighing in at 77 tonnes (170,000 lbs), it was as heavy as 14 African elephants, and seven tonnes heavier than the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus.

Scientists believe it is a new species of titanosaur - an enormous herbivore dating from the Late Cretaceous period.

A local farm worker first stumbled on the remains in the desert near La Flecha, about 135 miles west of Trelew, Patagonia.

The fossils were then excavated by a team of paleontologists from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio, led by Dr Jose Luis Carballido and Dr Diego Pol.

They unearthed the partial skeletons of seven individuals - about 150 bones in total - all in "remarkable condition".

BBC 

"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," the researchers told BBC News.

"Its length, from its head to the tip of its tail, was 40m.

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

The new dinosaur is a type of sauropod similar to Argentinosaurus, illustrated here / SPL

This giant herbivore lived in the forests of Patagonia between 95 and 100 million years ago, based on the age of the rocks in which its bones were found.

But despite its magnitude, it does not yet have a name.

Via BBC News