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WASHINGTON – Scientists have discovered in northwest Argentina the fossils of the oldest known giant dinosaur, a four-legged plant eater with a mid-long neck and a long tail that preceded the greatest land animals of all time. 19659002] The researchers said that the dinosaur – called Ingentia prima, meaning "the first giant" – measured up to 33 feet long and weighed about 10 tons, living 210 million years ago during the Triassic period
. a group of dinosaurs called sauropods which later included the Earth's greatest terrestrial creatures, including the Argentinosaurus, Dreadnoughtus and Patagotitan patagonian behemoths
"We see in Ingentia prima the origin of gigantism, the first steps for that , more than 100 million years later, up to 70 tonnes could exist like those that lived in Patagonia, "said Cecilia Apaldetti, paleontologist at the National University of San Juan Argentina, author Study of the study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Unlike later sauropods, the legs of Ingentia were not similar to pillars.His neck was also more shorter than the later sauropods, which had the longest neck in relation to the length of the animal body.
Dinosaurs appeared earlier in the Triassic, about 230 million years ago The first were of modest size, far from the immense dinosaurs of the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Scientists had already believed that the first giant dinosaurs appeared about 180 million years ago.
Apaldetti called Ingentia not only the largest dinosaur but the largest land animal of any kind so far. He was at least twice as tall as other plant eaters who shared the warm and learned environment that he lived in. The most important predators were not dinosaurs, but grandparents of crocodiles
"Gigantism is an evolutionary survival strategy, especially for herbivorous animals, because size is a form of defense against predators "said Apaldetti. Scientists have identified important traits related to gigantism in Ingentia. He possessed a bird – like respiratory system, linked to the development of air pockets in the body that gave him large reserves of oxygenated air and kept him cool despite his large size.
Later, giant dinosaurs grew in an accelerated way, a review of their bones showed that Ingentia increased seasonally rather than continuously, but at an even higher rate.
Ingentia, known from two partial skeletons, was discovered in the province of San Juan, Argentina.
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