Ancient Colossus Unearthed in Portugal May Be Largest Dinosaur Ever Found in Europe



The fossilized skeleton of what may have been the biggest dinosaur ever discovered in Europe has been discovered by paleontologists in Portugal.

The bones are believed to be those of a sauropod, a 150 million years old herbivorous dinosaur that stood 12 meters (39 feet) tall and measured 25 meters in length.

It's one of the largest specimens ever found in Europe, if not the entire world, according to paleontologist Elisabete Malafaia of Lisbon University's Faculty of Sciences, who spoke to AFP on Monday.

Scientists from Portugal and Spain discovered the bones at the beginning of August in the garden of a home close to Pombal in central Portugal.

At a dig site, three people examine a sauropod fossil.

the fossilized dinosaur. (AFP) Institute Dom Luiz, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon

According to Malafaia, they discovered the remains of a rib that measured about three meters long among the bones they had gathered.

When the owner was tearing up his garden to make room for an addition, in 2017, fragments of fossils were discovered there for the first time.

He made contact with paleontologists, who this month discovered a piece of the dinosaur skeleton and have been studying it ever since.

The team holding the fossil. (Instituto Dom Luiz/Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon) Sauropods are among the largest animals to have ever existed and are known for having long necks and tails.

It is believed that the brachiosaurid fossils found at the Monte Agudo site in Pombal date to the Upper Jurassic era.

It is "relatively rare," according to Malafaia, that the vertebrae and ribs were discovered in the same spot and in the same alignment as they would have been in the dinosaur's anatomy.

In the upcoming months, the team may carry out additional excavations at the site and in the neighborhood.

By  AFP

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