Giant dinosaur bones help archaeologists rethink the triassic period

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Giant dinosaurs lived on Earth much earlier than previously thought, according to a team of excavators in Argentina who discovered the remains of a 200 million-year-old species. 39; years.

The species, dubbed Ingenia prima, was about three times the size of the largest Triassic dinosaurs of his era. It was discovered in the Balde digging site of Leyes in the province of San Juan, 1100 kilometers west of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

The discovery was published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. by the Scientific Dissemination Agency of San Martin University.

"As soon as we found it, we realized that it was something different.We found a shape, the first giant among all the dinosaurs." It's the surprise ", Said Cecilia Apaldetti, a researcher from the Government and University of San Juan

The excavators found several vertebrae of the neck and tail as well as bones of the front and hind legs

. until now and indicates that gigantism appeared much earlier than we thought, "says Apaldetti, co-author of the study

" herbivorous dinosaurs, quadrupeds, easily recognizable to their very long neck and their tail, and the group of sauropods. ", she added

Before this discovery, it was thought that gigantism had developed during the Jurassic period, there are about 180 million of the years

Late Triassic [19659002] Fellow co-author Ricardo Martinez believes the Ingenia prima date of a "late Triassic, perhaps 205 million years".

The Triassic period extended from 250 to 200 million years ago and the Jurassic period from 200 to 145 million years ago.

Eeam studied the Triassic period, while dinosaurs were just beginning to appear. The first ones were small, but they evolved towards gigantism to defend themselves against the predators.

According to scientists, Ingenia prima was the first dinosaur species to reach gigantism and even though it was far from 70 tons The largest sauropods weighed since the late Cretaceous (145-66 million years ago), the rate of bone tissue accumulation was greater than that of the species of its time and the largest giants that lived in Patagonia, in southern Argentina. 19659002] The dinosaur bone fragments exhibited cyclical and seasonal growth, with a different type of tissue than other sauropods, which allowed it to grow very rapidly.

It is believed that the species has reached 8 to 10 meters. large – the specimen found was a young man who grew from six to seven meters – and weighed about 10 tons, or two or three elephants from Africa

Another of the characteristics of the species was the nes, the making it lighter and promoting growth.

The Balde de Leyes site, which extends over several thousand hectares, was discovered in 2001 and since 2014 has produced hundreds of specimens. At the end of the Triassic, it was a type of savannah. / kga

For comments, complaints or questions, contact us.