The long neck, massive body, small head and broad tail have made the sauropod one of the most recognizable dinosaurs ever discovered. These plant-eating giants included the largest land animals in Earth’s history, with some species reaching lengths of nearly 130 feet (40 meters). Famous examples include Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus.
Now, researchers studying fossils from southern Argentina have identified a new member of this distinguished group. dinosaur named Bicharacosaurus dionidiWas smaller than the largest sauropods but still measured an estimated 65 feet (20 m) long.
Giant dinosaur fossil found in Patagonia
Scientists recovered parts of the dinosaur’s spine, including more than 30 vertebrae from the neck, back and tail, as well as several ribs and part of the pelvis. The structure of the bone revealed that the remains belonged to an adult animal that lived in the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana about 155 million years ago.
What makes the fossil particularly interesting is its unusual mix of features. Parts of the skeleton are very similar to those of Giraffatitan, a brachiosaurid dinosaur discovered in Tanzania. Other characters, particularly in the posterior vertebrae, are similar to those of Diplodocus and related species of North America.
“Our phylogenetic analysis of the skeleton indicates that Bicharacosaurus dionidi It was related to the Brachiosauridae, which would make it the first brachiosauridae from the Jurassic of South America,” says LMU doctoral student Alexandra Reuter, first author of the study. The paleontologist examined the fossils as part of his doctoral research.
New clues about jurassic dinosaur evolution
The discovery could help scientists better understand how giant sauropods evolved in the Southern Hemisphere during the Late Jurassic period.
“Our knowledge of the evolution of sauropods from the Late Jurassic has so far been based almost entirely on numerous fossil findings from other sites in North America and the Northern Hemisphere. For a long time, there was only one significant site on the southern continents, in Tanzania. The fossil site in the Chubut Province of Argentina, where Bicharcosaurus dionidi originates, provides us with important comparative material, allowing us to constantly supplement and reevaluate our understanding. The evolutionary history of these animals, especially in the Southern Hemisphere,” says Professor Oliver Rauhut, leader of the study and a dinosaur expert at the Bavarian State Collections of Natural History (SNSB).
Dinosaur named after local shepherd
first fossils of Bicharacosaurus dionidi The shepherds were discovered in a field by Dionide Mesa. Researchers honored him by using his name for species designation. The genus name comes from “bicharraco”, a colloquial Spanish word meaning “big animal.”
These fossils were found in the Cañadón Calcareo rock formation in the Chubut Province of Patagonia. Today, the remains are housed in the Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, Argentina.