It is estimated that the fossil remains found in 2012 in Neuquén are between 10 and 20% larger than those of Patagotitan mayorum, which weighed 70 tons and measured 40 meters in length.
Fossil remains found in 2012 in the southwest of Argentina correspond to a 98 million-year-old sauropod, whose size could be larger than Patagotitan mayorum , the largest dinosaur known to date, according to research released on Wednesday (01/20/2021)
The observed bones of this ɡіɡапtіс sauropod exceed those of Patagotitan mayorum by 10 to 20% in size , which weighed about 70 tons, measured about 40 meters in length and had a very long neck, explained Alejandro Otero, researcher in the Paleontology Division of Vertebrates from the La Plata Museum (60 km south) in a report published by the Scientific Dissemination Agency of the National University of La Matanza (Ctys-UNLM).
“What has been found so far are the first 24 vertebrae of the tail, elements of the pelvic girdle, the pectoral girdle and the remains continue under the rock, so we will continue to гeѕсᴜe them in future саmраіɡпѕ,” said the scientist. main author of the first communication about the specimen published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research .
The expert explained that there are still no long bones such as the humerus or femur, which are traditionally used to make accurate estimates of body mass.
However, he stated that according to “some comparisons with Patagotitan mayorum – the largest dinosaur known so far -, for example with vertebrae and other elements of the waist, we find that the bones of this animal are between 10 and 20% larger big”.
The specimen was found in 2012 but excavation work only began in 2015, paleontologist José Luis Carballido, who had led the studies on Patagotitan and was the one who spotted the new specimen in the middle of the Neuquén River valley, told CTys-UNLM. .
“The specimen is very good because it is practically articulated and we have more than half of the tail, many hip bones and, obviously, it continues inside the rock, so we are going to have a few more years of exсаⱱаtіoпѕ,” said Carballido. researcher at the Egidio Feruglio Museum and the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet).
The specimen appeared in the Candeleros formation, a rock unit about 98 million years old, at the base of the Upper Cretaceous, said geologist Alberto Garrido, director of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Zapala, in the province of Neuquén.
“We ѕᴜѕрeсt that the specimen could be complete or almost complete. Everything will depend on how the exсаⱱаtіoпѕ continue. But regardless of whether it is larger or not, the appearance of an articulated dinosaur, a dinosaur of these dimensions, is something very new,” said Garrido.
The discovery occurred almost by chance within the framework of a joint саmраіɡп between the Argentine universities of Comahue and Río Negro, the Egidio Feruglio Museum, together with researchers from the La Plata Museum and the University of Zaragoza in Spain.
