The remains of a large dinosaur have been found in Portugal. Scientists have excavated a huge rib cage believed to be from a sauropod that lived about 150 million years ago. The research team hasn't identified the species, but the bones are breaking records.
Paleontologists began work on the site after a local farmer in Portugal noticed some bones in his yard. The local authorities and local researchers were notified of his actions.
Francisco Ortega, a key member of the excavation team and a paleontologist at the National Distance Education University in Madrid, told Live Science in an email that they found some poorly preserved vertebrae and parts of the ribs. The researchers were able to estimate the dinosaur's size by digging up an undamaged rib cage.
There is a dinosaur found in Zimbabwe.
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU...
It was huge. The team estimated that the dinosaur stood up to 12 meters tall and stretched over 25 m from nose to tail tip.
The structure of the skeleton is consistent with that of a brachiosaurid, a group of sauropod dinosaurs that were famous for their long, pool-noodlenecked dinosaurs. The giants grazed on leaves outside. Lusotitan atalaiensis is the most likely candidate for the new giant brachiosaurid.
It is possible that we can find a new sauropod, which is very exciting.
The researchers warned that it's still too early to say if the dinosaur is a brachiosaurid or not.
There are only a few discoveries of this group of dinosaurs in Europe. According to size estimates of the newly discovered fossil, this individual dinosaur was larger than any previously discovered L. atalaiensis individual. It could be a new species.
The bones will be prepared in Pombal with the help of the city council. Once the specimen has been analyzed and reassembled, it will have an "enormous museum potential" according to the man.
It was originally published on Live Science
All Rights Reserved © 2024
