Researchers at Drexel University have made some startling findings about the massive dinosaur species discovered in Argentina, called the Dreadnoughtus schrani, including the fact that it measured 85 feet in length and weighed 65 tons. According to the researchers, the Dreadnoughtus is the largest land animal to roam the planet. Or at least, the largest one whose body mass can be calculated.
“It weighed as much as a dozen African elephants or more than seven T. rex,” said Drexel professor Kenneth Lacovara, PhD, who discovered the complete fossil in southern Patagonia, to Forbes. “It is by far the best example we have of any of the most giant creatures to ever walk the planet."
In fact, the dinosaur is so large that it was named to reflect not only its large mass but its invincibility as well. As for the "schrani" portion, that was a tribute to entrepreneur Adam Schran who financed the research in Argentina.
“With a body the size of a house, the weight of a herd of elephants, and a weaponized tail, Dreadnoughtus would have feared nothing,” Lacovara said. “That evokes to me a class of turn-of-the-last century battleships called the dreadnoughts, which were huge, thickly clad and virtually impervious.”
The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports, reveal that the dinosaur belongs to a group called the titanosaurs.
“Titanosaurs are a remarkable group of dinosaurs, with species ranging from the weight of a cow to the weight of a sperm whale or more. But the biggest titanosaurs have remained a mystery, because, in almost all cases, their fossils are very incomplete,” said team member Matthew Lamanna from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, to Forbes.
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