Scientists have discovered a massive dinosaur which was the largest land animal on Earth during its time.

Fossils found in South Africa suggest the behemoth weighed in at 11,800 kilograms - nearly 12 tonnes, according to the Current Biology journal.

Researchers, led by palaeontologist Professor Jonah Choiniere of the University of Witwatersrand, dubbed the beast "ledumahadi mafube" - which translates to "giant thunderclap at dawn" from the local Sesotho language.

WITWATERSRAND UNIVERSITY Researchers dubbed the newly-found dinosaur "ledumahadi mafube" - which translates to "giant thunderclap at dawn" from the local Sesotho language.

The beast would have roamed the Earth some 200 million years ago - the beginning of the Jurassic period. This placed it some 50 million years before its larger, better-known cousin, the brontosaurus.

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"The name reflects the great size of the animal as well as the fact that its lineage appeared at the origins of sauropod dinosaurs. It honours both the recent and ancient heritage of southern Africa," Choiniere said.