The largest land animal alive today is the African forest elephant, which weighs about 20,000 pounds. As big as elephants, they have nothing to do with some extinct megafauna. Scientists digging up a new species of dinosaurs in Argentina have reported that the monster is the largest that has ever lived. Even if it did not set a record, the animal was much larger than it is today.
Only part of the animal was exhumed from its coffin, but paleontologists know it is from the sauropod family. These creatures, like Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, had long tails and necks, along with four thick, pillar-like legs. With this body design, some species could grow to unfathomable dimensions – the current dino record holder is a sauropod called Patagotitan mayorum. This animal was about six times more massive than a modern African elephant, and the new find looks even bigger.
The new dinosaur, which is being excavated not far from where scientists have discovered Patagotitan mayorum, is still mostly buried in rock. It therefore has no name, and the team did not venture a guess as to how big the animal was in life. However, some human-sized bones are 10 to 20 percent larger than the same bones. Patagotitan mayorum. The location also makes sense. Patagotitan mayorum also comes from this region of Argentina, which has gained the reputation of being home to several species of enormous, record-breaking sauropods.
A Patagotitan mayorum to see reconstruction in the Field Museum, Chicago. Credit: Ryan Whitwam
Researchers first noticed the remains of this animal in 2012. A team only came to the site for excavations in 2015, but the animal has been lying there for 98 million years. A few more seasons are not going to matter. Currently, the team has exposed the tail, some pelvic bones and some vertebrae. From this, paleontologists know that they are looking at a very large dinosaur, possibly even the largest.
It’s rare for an entire animal to fossilize – many species of dinosaurs are actually only known from a few sets of incomplete skeletal remains. It appears to be mostly intact, but most of it is still buried in rock. The team expects to spend a few more years carefully removing rock from the fossils. Hopefully the remains contain intact femurs or humorous bones. From this, researchers will be able to accurately estimate the size of the animal. When that happens, this nameless creature could take the crown as the largest known dinosaur.
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