Scientists identify massive new dinosaur following Thailand dig

"Scientists have identified the remains of a massive new species of dinosaur in Thailand, estimated to have weighed as much as nine adult elephants. Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis is the largest-known dinosaur from Southeast Asia, and a member of the dinosaur lineage called sauropods, known for having long necks and tails, small heads and four columnar legs, according to a report published on Thursday in the Scientific Reports journal."

"The herbivore stretched 27 metres (89 feet) and weighed about 27 tonnes, according to the study referenced in the report. The dinosaur is likely to have roamed what is now Thailand between 100 and 120 million years ago and is the largest ever found in Southeast Asia, researchers said. Its head and teeth were not among the fossils recovered, but researchers have a good idea of its feeding preferences based on other sauropods."

"Nagatitan was probably a bulk browser that focused on consuming high volumes of vegetation that required little to no chewing such as conifers and possibly seed ferns, said Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a University College London PhD student in palaeontology and lead author of the research. Sauropods were some of the largest recorded land animals in Earth's history."

"Our dinosaur is big by most people's standards. It likely weighed at least 10 tonnes more than Dippy the Diplodocus, said Sethapanichsakul, referring to the enormous composite cast previously on display at London's Natural History Museum. The Thai PhD student called the newly discovered sauropod the last titan because it was unearthed in one of the youngest rock formations where dinosaurs have been found in Thailand."

Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis is a newly identified sauropod dinosaur from Thailand, estimated to have lived between 100 and 120 million years ago. The herbivore reached about 27 metres in length and weighed roughly 27 tonnes, making it the largest-known dinosaur from Southeast Asia. It belonged to sauropods, characterized by long necks and tails, small heads, and four columnar legs. Fossils recovered did not include the head and teeth, but feeding preferences were inferred from other sauropods. It was likely a bulk browser that consumed large volumes of vegetation requiring little or no chewing, such as conifers and possibly seed ferns. The species was found in one of the youngest dinosaur-bearing rock formations in Thailand, earning the name “last titan.”

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