Big Dino: Fossils of largest dinosaur found in Argentina

Buenos Aires: Fossils of what is likely to be the largest dinosaur to walk on Earth have been found by a group of paleontologists in Argentina’s remote Patagonia region. The fossils were accidental discovered in 2011 by a farm worker in the Patagonia, 1,300 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. The creature is believed to be a new species of Titanosaur, a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod that walked on four legs and lived almost 95 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period. The dinosaur “weighed the equivalent of more than 14 African elephants,” or about 100 tonnes, said Jose Luis Carballido, a paleontologist at the Egidio Feruglio Museum in the southern Argentine city of Trelew. [caption id=“attachment_1530165” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image used for representational purpose only. Agencies[/caption] “This is a true paleontological treasure,” said Carballido in a statement. “There are many remains and they were practically intact, something that does not frequently happen,” he said. Known fossils “of a giant Titanosaur are scarce and fragmentary.” Museum director Ruben Cuneo told media that the remains belong to “the largest known specimen” of its kind and “the most complete find of this type of dinosaur in the world”. The creature was plant-eating and measured some 40 meters from head to tail, Cuneo said. Experts believe that the remains of seven dinosaurs, as well as the broken teeth of carnivores, are among the 200 fossils found at the Chubut site where the giant femur was found. AFP