A new species of titanosaur has been found in Argentine Patagonia

Argentine paleontologists have discovered a new species of titanosaur in Patagonia, Neuquén province, changing perceptions about the region's giant dinosaur population. The necked giant was named after Bustingorrytitan shiva He lived in the Cenomanian period, at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 95 million years ago.

Titanosaurs are part of the largest group of land animals that ever walked the Earth – five species in this clade had a mass of 50 tons or more, of which four inhabited Patagonia. She was:

• Mayor of Patagotitan;
• Argentinian huencolensis;
• Puertasaurus ruili;
• Dreadnought;
• Notocolossus gonzalezparejasi (Who did not live in Patagonia, but in the Neuquén Basin.)

Only one of them, which is… DreadnoughtThe scientists gave the humerus (arm bone) and femur (leg bone) from the same individual, allowing body mass to be estimated from scaling equations, a reliable method for quadrupedal tetrapods, such as the dinosaurs studied.

Titanosaurs in Argentina

Fossils are at least four B. Shiva In the Huincol Formation, the excavation site of Villa El Chucón, in Argentina. One of the skeletons was almost complete, while the others were just remains.

The estimated body mass of this species is 67.3 tons, and it has been found in the same geological layer as other giants of the past, such as the first truly giant titanosaur described, Argentinian honicolensis.

In addition to revealing more about the anatomy of this group of animals, the discovery also reveals more about their evolutionary history, as giant titanosaurs were important to the fauna of Patagonia during the Cretaceous period for nearly 50 million years. About 94 million years ago, many two-necked dinosaurs became extinct, including many titanosaurs.

However, some of them survived until the end of the Cretaceous, such as the saltasauroid and lungosaurid groups, such as the giants. n. gonzalesparejasibut only in southern Patagonia – in the north, giants (i.e. those weighing more than 50 metric tons) are not found.

Hey B. ShivaIt appears to have not survived, as it did in northern Patagonia, with remains a million years older than the extinction of its group. However, it is interesting evidence of the diversity and evolution of giants in the Global South 100 million years ago.

source: Polish paleontology