"Dinosaur Fossils in Spain Are Thought to Be a New Giant"

[Prada]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/26/sc...f79&ei=5087%0A


Fossils of a giant dinosaur have been uncovered in Spain, and they appear to be remains of the largest terrestrial animal known to have lived in Europe, paleontologists reported last week.

The dinosaur, which lived about 150 million years ago, is estimated to have weighed 40 to 48 tons. Its humerus, the long bone in the forelimb from the shoulder to the elbow, is as large as an adult human. The dinosaur’s length has yet to be determined, but the researchers said it had an extremely long neck and tail and a robust body and stout limbs.

The Spanish discoverers concluded that the animal was an early sauropod, one of the plant-eating dinosaurs that grew to enormous sizes, and is similar in some respects to Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus, commonly found in fossil beds in North America, and Paralititan, from Egypt. The extinct animal, named Turiasaurus riodevensis, was found near Teruel, Spain, about 150 miles east of Madrid.

In a report in the current issue of the journal Science, Rafael Royo-Torres and colleagues at the Teruel-Dinópolis Museum of Paleontology, in Teruel, said the animal was different enough from others to be classified as “a member of a hitherto unrecognized” branch of primitive sauropods. The other researchers on the team are Alberto Cobos and Luis Alcalá.

“It’s a tremendous find,” Peter Dodson, a paleontologist at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the research, said in an interview. “By and large, European dinosaur finds have not been terribly spectacular.”

Not that dinosaurs did not thrive in Europe, Dr. Dodson said. Most of the first dinosaur discoveries, in the early 19th century, were made in southern England and the coal mines of Belgium. It is just harder to know where to look for fossils in a continent that is heavily vegetated, urbanized and lacking in many natural rock outcrops exposing old bones.

If it seems that previously unknown dinosaurs are being found at a more rapid rate these days and in widely different places, paleontologists say it is because they are often searching in new fossil beds and looking with keener eyes. Fewer discoveries are now made by chance, and more by systematic exploration.

The results are adding up. In an analysis by Dr. Dodson and Steve C. Wang, a statistician at Swarthmore College, an average of one significant dinosaur discovery was made each year until 1970. From 1970 to 1990, the rate increased to six a year. Since then, dinosaurs have been popping up on an average of 15 a year.

[singern]

Very cool, Have you seen any better pictures anywhere, I couldnt find any other than that of the article posted..

[Flagg]

When I was a kid I wanted to dig up dinosaur bones when I grew up. THAT was a very interesting read. I wonder how much bigger than Brachiasaurus it was.

[Prada]

I only saw another pic which was not quite detailed either. Its mesmerizing as to how big it was and that it roamed the earth. Over 40 tons. I also find interesting the location of these dinosaurs that are found.