It is neither a peak, nor a cape, nor even a peninsula, but indeed a rock.
Or at least a fossil.
Properly colossal in size, the remains of a titanosaur discovered in Argentina could even be those of the most gigantic dinosaur ever unearthed.
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98 million years old, the fossil in question was found in 2012 in Argentina, on the site of the geological formation of Candeleros, in the province of Neuquén.
Released in 2015, it has just been the subject of a scientific publication this month, in the specialized journal
Cretaceous Research
.
According to the lead author of the study, Alejandro Otero of the National University of La Plata, the sauropod to which these fossils belonged could very possibly exceed in size - and weight - the Patagotitan mayorum ("
Patagonian Titan
") , the current contender for the title of probably the largest dinosaur ever to exist.
The latter, which also lived between 100 and 95 million years ago, exceeded 37 meters in length.
Far from being complete, the analysis of 24 fossilized vertebrae of the new dinosaur nevertheless indicates a dimension at least "
10% to 20% larger
" than that of the Patagotitan, indicates the division of vertebrate paleontology of the Museum of La Plata cited by AFP.
Maybe a new species
The main bones used to estimate the precise size of the dinosaur, the humerus and the femur, are nevertheless missing.
“
He's a huge dinosaur, but we hope to find a lot more remains of his skeleton in future field excavations;
only then will we be able to determine with certainty its actual size,
”Alejandro Otero told CNN.
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While thus guarding against claiming victory, the team of Argentinian paleontologists is already congratulating themselves on their discovery and are now anticipating the next upcoming excavation campaigns in the Candeleros formation.
“
We suspect that the specimen may be extracted complete or nearly complete.
Everything will depend on the way in which the excavations continue,
”said Alberto Garrido, director of the Zapala Natural Sciences Museum and one of the co-signers of the study.
"
But beyond the fact that it is the largest or not, the fact that an articulated dinosaur appears, a dinosaur of these dimensions, is something extraordinary
" he added to AFP.
The scientific study published in
Cretaceous Research
finally specifies that it is at this stage still too early to determine whether this is a new species or not, even if the fossils so far analyzed "
also prevent d 'attribute this new material to already known genera
' of sauropods.
What to anticipate one day, if all goes well, a new dinosaur name.
We can bet, however, that it will not be easy to find an even more imposing name than the already flashy “
Titan of Patagonia
”.