Fossils of Oldest Known Titanosaur That Lived 140 Million Years Ago Unearthed in Argentina

Researchers have discovered in Argentina's Patagonian skeletal remains of what may be a member of the oldest-known dinosaur group known as titanosaurs that includes the largest land animals in the history of Earth.

The incomplete skeletal remains of the dinosaur were found south of the city of Neuquen. Scientists said the discovery of skeletons, symbolizing a species of dinosaur named Ninja Titan Zapata, reveals that it first appeared longer ago than they initially thought.

Scientists said on Monday, "The skeletons symbolize a dinosaur species named Ninja Titan Zapata that existed during the Cretaceous period, 140 million years ago." Researchers know Ninja titan as a group of long-necked plant-eating dinosaurs that walked on four pillar-like legs (titanosaurs).

The Oldest Known Record

Pablo Gallina, a study-led author and a researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET) told Reuters that it is the oldest record known, not only from Argentina but all over the world. Titanosaurs are recorded on various sides of the world, but the oldest-known records were more modern than this discovery.

Ninja titan was a large dinosaur at a length of about 20 meters (65 feet), but much smaller than titanosaurs discovered later such as Argentinosaurus that reached a length of around 35 meters (115 feet).

The scientists also made it known that the presence of such an early titanosaur in Patagonia agrees with the idea that it was in the Southern Hemisphere that titanosaurs was originated from.

Findings in the Scientific Journal

The findings were released in the Ameghiniana scientific journal. Titanosaurs are members of sauropods, a larger dinosaur group that includes others with similar body designs such as Brontosaurus and Diplodocus that existed in North America during the Jurassic age, which predated the Cretaceous age.

Quite a lot of titanosaurs that inhabited Patagonia such as Argentinosaurus, Patagotitan, and Dreadnoughtus achieved gigantic proportions.

Another CONICET scientist, José Luis Carbadillo, disclosed to a local university publication that the age of Ninja titan's remains could have led people to think that the bones are meant for a dinosaur group that preceded titanosaurs and in Patagonia, they are only known from less than 120 million years ago.

Desert-Dwelling Dinosaurs Found in Brazil

Researchers said on Wednesday that a desert-dwelling carnivorous dinosaur that used claws to catch small animals 90 million years ago has been discovered in southern Brazil.

A team of paleontologists from Brazil and Argentina said in a statement that the skeletal remains just five feet (over a meter and a half in length), the skeletal remains of the Vespers Taurus paranaensis were discovered in Cruzeiro do Oeste municipality of Paraná state.

Footprints now known to belong to this new species of dinosaur were found in the 1970s in Cruzeiro do Oeste. Paulo Manzig of the Paleontology Museum of Cruzeiro do Oeste said It is incredible that nearly after 50 years, it looks like we have found what type of dinosaur would have produced those enigmatic footprints.

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