Discovery of a new species of sauropods in Argentina

PARIS – A team of Spanish and Argentinean paleontologists discovered the remains of a dinosaur that lived 110 million years ago in the center of the country, revealed the other day. 39, National University of La Matanza.

Three distinct dinosaurs of the herbivore group of 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, and the bones that define the orbits, for example. able to create an almost complete reconstruction, "said Jose Luis Carballido, a researcher at the Egidio Feruglio Museum and the National Council of Scientific Investigations.

Parts of the neck, tail and back were also discovered. "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 long and two miners of about six to seven meters.

Paleontologists claim that the dinosaurs moved in groups and died together.

"This discovery of an adult and two miners 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 the fossils were found is unusual for dinosaurs The desert was made up of sporadic lakes at that time.

The sauropods were the most great creatures to have ever walked on the planet.It is thought that Supersaurus could reach 33 to 34 meters long and that the Argentinos would have weighed up to 120 tons.

It was quadrupeds herbivores with long necks and tails, large bodies and small heads, but the discovery of Neuquen, published in the scientific journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, remains a great surprise.

"Although we can imagine that this group of sauropods could have adapted to move in more arid environments, with little vegetation, little moisture and little water, this is an area in which you would not look for fossils, "said Carballido .