Giant new dinosaur identified from remains found in Thailand
BBC • • general
Key Points:
- The nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, the largest dinosaur discovered in South-East Asia, weighed 27 tonnes and measured 27 meters in length, surpassing the size of a diplodocus and twice that of a tyrannosaurus rex.
- Fossils of the nagatitan were found in north-eastern Thailand's Chaiyaphum province and date back 100 to 120 million years, making it one of the youngest large sauropods discovered in the region.
- The species was identified by a UK-Thailand research team led by Thai doctoral student Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, who described it as "the last titan" of Thailand due to its presence in the country's youngest dinosaur-bearing rock formation.
- Thailand ranks as possibly the third most abundant country in Asia for dinosaur fossils, with the nagatitan being the 14th dinosaur named there, highlighting the region's rich paleontological diversity.
- Researchers noted the unusual ability of large sauropods like the nagatitan to thrive in higher temperature conditions despite their massive size, which typically makes heat regulation more challenging.