大象传媒

Titanosaur: Is this the largest dinosaur ever to have existed?

ArgentinosaurusImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Wouldn't want to bump into him on a walk...

A new species of dinosaur is being unearthed in Argentina - and it might be the biggest one we've seen yet.

A team in Neuquen Province in Patagonia have found a collection of bones, thought to be from a "super-sized titanosaur", a member of the sauropod family of dinosaurs.

The remains are not a complete skeleton of the creature - just the pelvic bones and vertebrae (segments of the spine), but the size of these individual parts, give the researchers an indication of the sheer size of this particular animal.

Saurpods had incredibly long necks and tails, and were believed to be the largest land animals to have ever existed.

The researchers behind the discovery say this particular creature may come from a previously unknown population of Patagonian sauropods.

But, they have said the fossilised bone fragments of this new discovery may show this titanosaur was far larger than anything previously discovered.

The new specimen has been written about in Cretaceous Research - a palaeontology journal.

The previously known "largest" dinosaur to have existed, was believed to have weighed over 77 tonnes and reached lengths of over 31 metres.

But if they are correct, this new discovery could beat it and become the largest land animal to have ever existed.

The largest animal - land or sea - ever to have existed remains the blue whale, which can reach maximum sizes of 33.5 metres long and weigh a whopping 173 tonnes.

What do you think about this GIANT dino? Let us know in the comments!