Paleontologists discover new species of sauropods in Argentina

Buenos Aires: 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 l & # 39; National University of La Matanza.

came from three distinct dinosaurs of 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, and the bones that define the orbits, for example. able to create an almost complete reconstruction, "Jose Luis Carballido, a researcher at the Egidio Feruglio Museum and the National Council of Scientific Investigations, said Friday. Parts of the neck, tail and back were also discovered.

"Not only is the discovery of a new species in an area where one does not expect to find fossils, but the skull is almost complete" , added Carballido.

The remains belonged to an adult of about 12 meters long and two miners of about six to seven meters. Paleontologists say that the dinosaurs moved together and died together.

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

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

The Sauropods were the greatest 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.

"We can imagine that this group of sauropods could have adapted to move in more arid environments, with little vegetation, little humidity and little water, it is a place where you would not seek no fossils, "said Carballido.

AFP