A big one!

(Image credit: Jorge Gonzalez)

There's a new heavyweight champion in the books: Patagotitan mayorum, a long-necked titanosaur, is not only the world's largest dinosaur on record but also the largest known land-dwelling animal in history, a new study finds.The 69-ton (62 metric tons) Patagotitan mayorum lived about 100 million years ago in what is now Patagonia, Argentina. In all, researchers found more than 200 fossilized bones from at least six individuals.



But a bone analysis revealed that the six uncovered P. mayorum individuals weren't fully grown, suggesting that there are even larger dinosaurs out there waiting to be found. [Read the full story on Patagotitan mayorum, the largest dinosaur on record]

Enormous dinosaur

(Image credit: Jorge Gonzalez)

Enormous At nearly 70 tons, Patagotitan mayorum is the largest dinosaur on record.



The previous record holder was another titanosaur from Patagonia called Argentinosaurus hiunculensis.

Patagonia ranch

(Image credit: A. Otero)

Ranch worker Aurelio Hernandez discovered the fossils on La Flecha ranch in Patagonia, Argentina, in 2012.

Giant bones

(Image credit: A. Otero)

Hernandez told one of the ranch's owners, Oscar Mayo, about his finding. When Mayo came to see them, he said he thought that they were likely dinosaur fossils.

Museum involvement

(Image credit: A. Otero)

Mayo notified researchers at the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, a city in the Chubut province of Argentina.

Lengthy excavation

(Image credit: A. Otero)

Paleontologists from the museum spent 18 months excavating more than 200 titanosaur fossils.

Fossils galore

(Image credit: A. Otero)

An analysis showed that the bones belonged to at least six different titanosaur individuals.

Titanosaur territory

(Image credit: A. Garrido)

Patagonia is known for its vast number of dinosaur — especially titanosaur — fossils.

Genus name

(Image credit: A. Garrido)

Researchers named the dinosaur Patagotitan mayorum. The genus name refers to Patagonia, where the creature lived 100 million years ago.

Species name

(Image credit: José L. Carballido)

The species name of Patagotitan mayorum honors the Mayo family, who welcomed the paleontologists onto their land during the excavation.

Giant femur

(Image credit: Jose Maria Farfaglia)

A titanosaur femur, or thighbone, measured 8 feet (2.4 meters) long.