A team of Argentine paleontologists excavating in Patagonia discovered the remains of the largest dinosaur belonging to the family of birds of prey on record.
A team of Argentine paleontologists excavating in Patagonia discovered the remains of the largest dinosaur belonging to the family of birds of prey on record.
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| Fossilized bones of Maip macrothorax, a megaraptor dinosaur that lived in the Patagonia region of Argentina, are shown in the Buenos Aires National History Museum on April 27, 2022 . |
The dinosaur, a new species called Maip macrothorax, was between 9 and 10 meters long, while other “megaraptors” were no more than nine meters, according to Mauro Aranciaga Rolando, one of the scientists who participated in the discovery.
“This animal is of a very large size and we were able to recover many remains,” Aranciaga Rolando told Reuters last Wednesday (27), as the fossils were displayed at the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires.
The fossils were discovered in March 2019 in the province of Santa Cruz, days before the strict restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic were applied, said the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, which includes the experts who found the dinosaur.
Two Japanese scientists also participated in the Argentine expedition.
Due to the pandemic, paleontologists initially had to distribute the fossils among themselves and analyze them at home.
The carnivorous dinosaur is believed to have inhabited what is now the southern tip of Argentina 70 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.
Megaraptors were animals with an agile skeleton, a long tail that allowed them to maneuver and balance, a long neck and an elongated skull, with more than 60 small teeth, said Aranciaga Rolando, who explained that the sharp limbs of the “Maip” were the weapon. most dangerous of the animal.
(Source: Reuters)
