Paleontologists discover new species of sauropods in Argentina

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Buenos Aires, November 3 A team of Spanish and Argentine paleontologists discovered the remains of a dinosaur that lived 110 million years ago in the center of the country, revealed the National University of La Matanza.

The remains come from three distinct dinosaurs belonging to the group of herbivorous sauropods, the best known being Diplodocus and Brontosaurus. This new species has been named Lavocatisaurus agrioensis.

"We found most of the cranial bones: the muzzle, the jaws, many teeth, as well as the bones that define the orbits for example, which allowed us to create an almost complete reconstruction" Jose Luis Carballido, Researcher at the museum Egidio Feruglio and the National Council of Scientific Investigations, announced Friday. Parts of the neck, tail and back have also been found.

"Not only is the discovery of a new species in an area where fossils are not expected, but the skull is almost complete," Carballido added.

The remains belonged to an adult of about 12 meters (39 feet) and two miners of about six to seven meters. Paleontologists say that the dinosaurs moved in groups and died together.

"This discovery of an adult and two young people also means the first record of a group move among the rebbachisaurus dinosaurs," said the study's lead author, Jose Ignacio Canudo, of the University of Zaragoza.

The area in which fossils were found is unusual for dinosaurs because it would have been a desert with sporadic lakes at that time.

Sauropods are the largest creatures ever to have roamed the planet. Supersaurus could reach 33 to 34 meters long and Argentinosaurus could have weighed up to 120 tons. They were herbivorous quadrupeds with long necks and tails, mbadive bodies and small heads.

But the discovery of Neuquen, published in the scientific journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, remains a huge surprise.

"Even if one can imagine that this group of sauropods could have adapted to more arid environments, with little vegetation, little moisture and little water, c & # 39; is an area in which you would not look for fossils, "said Carballido. .
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