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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The argentinosaurus

Argentinosaurus (AR-jen-TEE-noh-SAW-rus meaning "Argentinian lizard") is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur first discovered by Guillermo Heredia in Argentina. The generic name refers to the country in which it was discovered. The dinosaur lived on the then-island continent of South America somewhere between 97 and 94 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Epoch. It is among the largest known dinosaurs.




Discovery

The first fossils identified as Argentinosaurus were found in 1987 by a rancher in Argentina, who mistook the leg for a giant piece of petrified wood. A gigantic backbone was also found, and was almost as high as a man.


The type species of Argentinosaurus, A. huinculensis, was described and published in 1993 by the Argentinian palaeontologists José F. Bonaparte and Rodolfo Coria. Its more specific time-frame within the Cretaceous is the late Cenomanian faunal stage, ~96 to 94 million years ago. The fossil discovery site is in the Huincul Formation of the Río Limay Subgroup in Neuquén Province, Argentina (the Huincul Formation was a member of the Río Limay Formation according to the naming of the time.)

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Fossilized bones of huge 100 TON dinosaur found

From the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2631309/Scientists-largest-dinosaurs-Titanosaur-fossil.html

Move over T-rex, see you later Stegosaurus, adios Argentinosaurus. Scientists have announced that the bones of a new, even larger dinosaur have been found.
Argentinosaurus currently holds the record for being both the heaviest land animal ever, and the longest, but the fossilized bones of the biggest dinosaur ever discovered have been found in Argentina.
Scientists believe the species of titanosaur weighed in at 170,000 pounds, as heavy as 14 African elephants.
A local farm worker found the remains which were captured by the BBC's Natural History unit.
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The Thigh bones' connected to the...: A technician next to the femur of a dinosaur -- likely to be the largest ever to roam the earth
The Thigh bones' connected to the...: A technician next to the femur of a dinosaur -- likely to be the largest ever to roam the earth
Boner: One of the paleontologists lies next to the femur of sauropod
Boner: One of the paleontologists lies next to the femur of sauropod
What it was like: The newly identified South American dinosaur uses its whip-like tail to fend off predators in this 2014 illustration
What it was like: The newly identified South American dinosaur uses its whip-like tail to fend off predators in this 2014 illustration

Discovery: Paleontologists Jose Luis Carballido (L) and Ruben Cuneo pose next to the bones of a dinosaur at a farm in La Flecha, west of the Argentina's Patagonian city of Trelew
Discovery: Paleontologists Jose Luis Carballido (L) and Ruben Cuneo pose next to the bones of a dinosaur at a farm in La Flecha, west of the Argentina's Patagonian city of Trelew

Quite the find: According to paleontologists from the renowned Egidio Feruglio Museum, Jose Luis Carballido and Ruben Cuneo, the fossils are that of a sauropod and preliminary tests dates the fossils at some 90 million years old
Quite the find: According to paleontologists from the renowned Egidio Feruglio Museum, Jose Luis Carballido and Ruben Cuneo, the fossils are that of a sauropod and preliminary tests dates the fossils at some 90 million years old



How it compaares: Size comparison between Argentinosaurus (shown in purple) and a human
How it compaares: Size comparison between Argentinosaurus (shown in purple) and a human

Huge discovery: The fossilized bones of the biggest dinosaur ever discovered have been found in Argentina
Huge discovery: The fossilized bones of the biggest dinosaur ever discovered have been found in Argentina

Tremendous: Its gigantic bones were found by a local farm worker in a desert in Patagonia, the southern Argentine region that has yielded many important dinosaur discoveries
Tremendous: Its gigantic bones were found by a local farm worker in a desert in Patagonia, the southern Argentine region that has yielded many important dinosaur discoveries

Garguantuan: Its calculated 77-ton weight would have made it as heavy as 14 African elephants, beating the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus, by some seven tons
Garguantuan: Its calculated 77-ton weight would have made it as heavy as 14 African elephants, beating the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus, by some seven tons

The fossils were then excavated by a team of palaeontologists from the Museum of Palaeontology 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'.
According to the measurements of its gigantic thigh bones, the herbivore would have been 40m (130ft) long and 20m (65ft) tall.
 
Palaeontologists think it is a new species of titanosaur – part of a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs that were characterised by their long necks and tails and small heads – dating from the Cretaceous period.
The mega dino would have weighed in at 77 tons, making it seven tons heavier than the previous record holder Argentinosaurus.
The creature, which lived in the forests of Patagonia between 95 and 100 million years ago, was yet to be named.
“It will be named describing its magnificence and in honour to both the region and the farm owners who alerted us about the discovery,” the researchers said.
Residents and technicians gather around the bones of a dinosaur at a farm. They say it is the largest set of remains of a dinosaur ever found to date
Residents and technicians gather around the bones of a dinosaur at a farm. They say it is the largest set of remains of a dinosaur ever found to date

Vast: The palaeontologists say the find is thought to be a new species of titanosaur ¿ a huge herbivore of the long-necked sauropod group that lived in the Late Cretaceous period
Vast: The palaeontologists say the find is thought to be a new species of titanosaur ¿ a huge herbivore of the long-necked sauropod group that lived in the Late Cretaceous period

Stupendous: The bones were initially discovered a year ago in the desert near La Flecha, about 135 miles west of the Patagonian town of Trelew
Stupendous: The bones were initially discovered a year ago in the desert near La Flecha, about 135 miles west of the Patagonian town of Trelew

Dusty work: The fossils were then excavated by a team of palaeontologists from the Museum of Palaeontology Egidio Feruglio, led by Dr Jose Luis Carballido and Dr Diego Pol (pictured left)
Dusty work: The fossils were then excavated by a team of palaeontologists from the Museum of Palaeontology Egidio Feruglio, led by Dr Jose Luis Carballido and Dr Diego Pol (pictured left)

Colossal: Scientists believe the species of titanosaur weighed in at 170,000 pounds, as heavy as 14 African elephants
Colossal: Scientists believe the species of titanosaur weighed in at 170,000 pounds, as heavy as 14 African elephants

Long nect: Paleontologists in Argentina's remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of a creature is believed to be a new species of Titanosaur, a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod that walked on four legs and lived some 95 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period
Long nect: Paleontologists in Argentina's remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of a creature is believed to be a new species of Titanosaur, a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod that walked on four legs and lived some 95 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period

The discovery came in the same week scientists confirmed the Argentinosaurus to be the biggest of them all.
That plant-eating dinosaur weighed a earth-shaking 90 tons when it lived about 90 million years ago in Argentina, although the record has been broken by this new find.
Oxford University palaeontologist Dr Roger Benson, who led the study, says the dinosaur weigh-in included species ranging from small bird-like dinosaurs to well-known carnivores such as the Tyrannosaurus rex.
The Tyrannosaurus rex, which weighed 7 tons, was the largest meat-eating dinosaur in the study, but it is small in comparison to the Argentinosaurus.
Immense: The museum has retrieved some 150 bones said to come from seven individuals, all in remarkable condition
Immense: The museum has retrieved some 150 bones said to come from seven individuals, all in remarkable condition

Massive: Given the size of these bones, which surpass any of the previously known giant animals, the new dinosaur is the largest animal known to have walked on Earth
Massive: Given the size of these bones, which surpass any of the previously known giant animals, the new dinosaur is the largest animal known to have walked on Earth

A sparrow-sized bird called Qiliania, which lived about 120 million years ago in China, earned the distinction of being the smallest dinosaur, weighing a mere 15 grams.
Dr Benson said Argentinosaurus, which roamed around South America, was about 6 million times the weight of Qiliania and that both still fit within the dinosaur family. 'That seems amazing to me,' he said.
The largest meat-eating dinosaur was Tyrannosaurus rex, which weighed 7 tons and is also the largest known land predator of all time.
The T. rex edged out another super predator that some scientists had once figured was bigger based on the length of its skull, Giganotosaurus, which lived alongside Argentinosaurus in ancient South America.
The study estimated Giganotosaurus at about 6 tons, pretty darned big, but just a bit shy of dethroning T. rex.