Scientists Present Largest Dinosaur Ever Discovered in Brazil

10/06/2016 - 11h56

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LUIZA FRANCO

FROM RIO

A group of Paleontologists has discovered the largest dinosaur ever identified in Brazil until now. Given the name Austroposeidon Magnificus, it measured close to 25 meters long - a size comparable to two urban busses, between 6 and 8 meters tall and lived around 70 million years ago.

It is a member of the Titanossauros group, long-necked herbivores that were the largest animals on earth.

Until today the largest dinosaur ever discovered in Brazil was the Maxakalisaurus Topai, also a Titanossauros, measuring 13 meters in length.

With this discovery Brazil now counts 23 species of dinosaurs found and identified. Neck and spinal vertebra were found by a farmer during work on a highway near to the city of Presidente Prudente (SP) in the 1950's.

At the time, paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price (1905-1980), who was the first to register dinosaur fossils found in Brazilian territory, went to collect and secure the material.

The importance of this discovery only began to become clear three years ago, when Camila Bandeira, a graduate student at UFRJ's (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) National Museum began her research into it.

Up until then, the material had been kept inside of a cabinet in the collection of the Earth Sciences Museum. "Price knew that he had found a gigantic animal, but he had so many others to identify that he ended up not having enough time", said Paleontologist Alexander Kellner, Bandeira's advisor.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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