A newly identified species of supermassive dinosaur might have been one of the largest creatures ever to walk on land
Earth-shaking dinosaur discovered ,59-tonne behemoth was probably one of the largest land animals ever.
A newly identified species of supermassive dinosaur might have been one of the largest creatures ever to walk on land, suggests a study published on 4 September in Scientific Reports1.
Dreadnoughtus schrani, were excavated in southern Argentina between 2005-09. The animal is a titanosaur, one of the heavy subgroup generally herbivorous dinosaurs with long necks-known sauropods.
The genus name Dreadnoughtus, which means Old English "fear nothing" is a nod to the idea that was so gigantic dinosaur This healthy adult Dreadnoughtus probably were attacked by predators, says Kenneth Lacovara a vertebrate paleontologist at the Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who led the study. The bones of two individuals of the newly described species have been found in rocks originally envisaged in the sediments in a floodplain of the time between 66 million years and 84 million years.
About 45% of post-cranial bones of larger sample recovered, Lacovara said. If mirror images researchers use this bone on one side of the creature, for example, to replace lost bone on the other side, which "can produce a reconstruction of fossil About 70% including species bone in neck, body and tail.
King of the giants
The bone measurements and proportions of the nearby to estimate the lengths of the missing bones, Lacovara and his colleagues believe Dreadnoughtus stretched 26 meters nose to tail relatives. By measuring the circumference of the humerus and femur (upper in the forelimb and hindlimb bones), recognized gold standard for estimating body mass of the animals, the team estimates that the largest specimens Dreadnoughtus would have weighed about 59.3 tonnes when he died.
Even though some other titanosaurs were estimated up to 100 tons, the figures are based on less accurate methods are extrapolated from the fossils are fragmentary, Lacovara said. Therefore, argues that Dreadnoughtus is the largest land animal known which body mass can be calculated accurately.
In addition, he said, the biggest fossil specimens suggest that the creature was not yet fully mature and has continued to grow when he died.
However, the researchers suggest that the relative degree of these fossils, not because of its size, is what matters most. The well-preserved bone will help scientists better understand the close relatives of this species, which is known for a much smaller proportion of the bones, said Curry Rogers.
The fact that these researchers have identified two relatively complete specimens of different sizes Dreadnoughtus means that paleontologists can better assess the growth of the species if eventually fall in the fossil of an adult, said Curry Rogers. "This is a great show, even if it's not the biggest out there," he said.
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