Buenos Aires, Sept 01: Argentine Palaeontologist Fernando Novas revealed a
newly discovered dinosaur vertebrae on Friday (July 21) in
Buenos Aires.
The vertebrae found are reportedly consistent with
large herbivores that are thought to have dominated the
Patagonia during most of the Mesozoic Age.
Novas explained that the vertebrae uncovered at Cerro
Los Hornos in the province of Santa Cruz indicate that the
dinosaur is larger than the Argentinosaurus, previously
thought to be the areas largest dinosaur.
"It was a huge surprise when we found these new
vertebrae that are much wider than those of the
Argentinosaurus. This indicates it a dinosaur as big or
bigger, fatter than the Argentinosaurus, which was a very
big animal. It may have been 45 to 50 meters long and could
have weighed as much as 15 or 20 elephants," Novas
explained from the Natural Science Museum in Buenos Aires.
The largest vertebrae from the middle of the back is a
massive 1.7 metres, making it bigger than the
Argentinosaurus found in the southern province of Neuquen.
Neck vertebrae found are 1.2 to 1.4 meters wide.
Findings recently published in Argentina's Natural
Science Museum magazine say the dinosaur lived some 70
million years ago, shortly before the mass extinction of
dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, September 01, 2006, 00:00