A team of Argentine paleontologists has unveiled the remains of a gigantic new species of long-necked herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the southern Patagonia region about 70 million years ago.
The dinosaur, named Chucarosaurus Diripienda, meaning hard-boiled and scrambled, was one of the largest sauropods ever discovered, weighing about 50 tonnes and measuring 30 meters in length.
The name was inspired by an accident that occurred when the dinosaur’s bones were being transported to a laboratory in Buenos Aires. The van carrying them tipped over, but luckily no one was hurt and the fossils were not damaged.
The discovery was made in the Pueblo Blanco Nature Reserve in the mountainous Rio Negro province, where the first bones were found in 2018. The researchers spent two years excavating and studying the fossils, which included a nearly complete femur bone that spanned 1.90 meters and weighed over 300 kilograms.
The findings were presented on Thursday at a press conference in Buenos Aires, where the researchers showed some of the bones and explained the significance of their discovery.
Nicolas Chimento, a paleontologist from the Bernardino Rivadavia Museum of Natural Sciences and one of the lead authors of the study, said that the Chucarosaurus was a unique species that had not been previously described.
“It has some features that differentiate it from other sauropods, such as its slender and graceful proportions, its long neck and tail, and its small head with peg-like teeth,” he said.
He added that the Chucarosaurus belonged to a group of sauropods called titanosaurs, which were widespread in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous period. Patagonia was home to some of the world’s largest plant-eating dinosaurs, such as the colossal Patagotitan mayorum, which holds the record for being the biggest dinosaur ever discovered.
However, Chimento said that the Chucarosaurus was not related to the Patagotitan, but rather to another group of titanosaurs called lognkosaurs, which were also very large but more robust and stocky.
“The Chucarosaurus is like a cousin of the Patagotitan, but it evolved in a different way,” he said.
Matias Motta, another paleontologist from the same museum and co-author of the study, said that the Chucarosaurus lived in a diverse ecosystem that included predators, fish and sea turtles. He said that the dinosaur probably fed on low-growing plants and used its long neck to reach higher vegetation.
He also said that the Chucarosaurus was one of the last sauropods to exist before they went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, along with most other dinosaurs.
“The Chucarosaurus represents one of the final evolutionary stages of these amazing animals that dominated the Earth for more than 150 million years,” he said.
The study was carried out by researchers from the Bernardino Rivadavia Museum of Natural Sciences, the Azara Foundation and national research council Conicet with support from the National Geographic Society.
Argentina is one of the world’s leading countries for dinosaur research and discoveries, with more than 140 species identified so far. The researchers hope that their discovery will inspire more people to learn about these fascinating creatures and their ancient history.
