As of: March 8, 2024, 6:17 a.m
By: Fabian Hartmann
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He actually just wanted to walk his dog, then he discovers something amazing: the fossil remains of a gigantic dinosaur.
Montouliers – You will probably not forget this walk in a hurry.
Together with his dog Muffin, 25-year-old Frenchman Damien Boschetto came across a particularly unusual find not far from the southern French town of Montouliers: while walking in a forest they found a dinosaur fossil.
According to experts, it could be around 70 million years old.
After a sensational discovery: excavation of the gigantic fossil took two whole years
"It happened on a morning like any other, during an ordinary walk," Boschetto told US news channel
ABC News
.
Then he suddenly saw huge bones sticking out of a rock wall.
After Boschetto reported the find to relevant experts, it quickly became clear: the bones belonged to an extremely large dinosaur - and that excavating the giant's remains would take some time.
In the end it took a whole two years, and then it became clear: the unearthed bones belonged to the skeleton of a so-called titanosaur.
Luckily for the archaeologists, the skeleton was almost completely preserved.
“The area around Cruzy is rich in fossils of dinosaurs and other species that lived at the same time,” the discoverer of the gigantic fossil remains is quoted as saying by the
Bild
newspaper
.
Skeleton found belongs to titanosaur – one of the largest creatures of all time
Today, a total of around 70 different species of titanosaurs are known - fossil remains of them have been found on every single continent on earth.
It is assumed that they are among the largest species that have ever lived on earth.
The so-called Patagotitan also belongs to them.
With a length of around 37 meters, six meter high shoulders and a weight of up to 80 tons, scientists believe it is the largest dinosaur of its genus.
The giant titanosaurs also include the thirty meter long, six meter high and 70 ton heavy Argentinosaurus as well as the Dreadnoughtus schrani with a length of 26 meters and a still impressive weight of 60 tons.
For comparison: A Patagotitan could be around three times as tall as a 1.70 meter person up to the shoulder and around two and a half times as long as a 15 meter long public bus.
This meant the giant could even reach leaves in distant treetops.
Thanks to its colossal size, the Titanosaurus was protected from predators and was considered almost invincible.
His thigh bone alone measures two and a half meters.
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A fossil discovery like this is extremely rare in Europe
The lucky finder of the almost completely preserved dinosaur skeleton describes that it was only after a few days of digging that they realized that the remains were connected bones.
Such skeletal finds are extremely rare in Europe, which makes the discovery all the more remarkable.
Last year, a similar case in Bavaria caused a stir: there researchers discovered fossil remains that are considered the largest amphibian find in Bavaria.
This is what it might have looked like, the Titanosaurus.
An extremely well-preserved titanosaur skeleton was found by a walker in southern France.
© imago
The skeleton of the gigantic dinosaur is now in the museum in the southern French town of Cruzy.
And what is its discoverer doing these days?
The sensational discovery also made Boschetto take a different direction: he decided to study paleontology.
(fh)