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Researchers in Argentina have discovered what they call the oldest known giant dinosaur and this is changing the way paleontologists view the evolution of dinosaurs as a whole.
A recently published study in Nature indicates the recent discovery Ingentia prima is three times the size of the largest species of dinosaur discovered in the Tribadic and reportedly weighed up to nine tons at the time. ;adulthood.
With this discovery, researchers now rethink the evolution of dinosaurs, as they previously believed that giant dinosaurs did not exist until 25 million years later.
"Before this discovery, gigantism was considered to have emerged during the Jurbadic period, about 180 million years ago, but Ingentia prima at the end of the Tribadic there is between 210 and 205 million years ago, "said Cecilia Apaldetti, a researcher at the University of San Juan and senior author of the study.
For most dinosaurs, gigantism has proven to be an evolutionary survival tool, particularly among herbivores that could use their size as a form of defense against predators.
Researchers say Ingentia prima which vaguely translates to "first giant", was a four-legged herbivore that was growing cyclically, which meant that it would grow rapidly for periods of time and then stop growing for similar expanses, much like a tree
the dinosaurs of that time, but no other known species has exceeded more than three meters in length and 1.8 tons in weight .
The researchers also found cavities in the bones Ingentia prima, which they said would help to clarify "These pneumatic cavities indicate that this new species had highly developed air sacs and a very poor respiratory system. effective, similar to what happens in modern birds, which Apaldetti
Despite its size, the Ingentia prima pales in comparison to the 64-ton giants of the Cretaceous period, when the giant dinosaurs ruled the Earth 65 million years ago.
"This discovery gives a fresh look at the magnitude of the evolutionary explosion that dinosaurs had," said Diego Pol, paleontologist at the Museum Egidio Feruglio in Argentina. "This evolutionary explosion was so great that it explains the success of the dinosaurs during the rest of their era."
Paleontologists made the discovery at Balde de Leye s, a region of western Argentina where other species of dinosaurs and ancient turtles, iguanas and mice, have already been discovered.
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