MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New giant plant eater dinosaur found in Argentine Patagonia

The team of paleologits proudly show samples discovered

A team of Argentine and Brazilian paleontologists announced the discovery of a new dinosaur species ? a giant, Patagonian plant-eater ? that lived 88 million years ago.

The animal, which was about 34 metres long and weighed nearly 8 tons, appears to represent a previously unknown species because of the unique structure of its neck. The team named it Futalognkosaurus dukei, after the Mapuche Indian, meaning the "giant chief of the Saurus," and for Duke Energy Argentina, which helped fund the skeleton's excavation. "This is one of the biggest in the world and one of the most complete of these giants that exist," said Jorge Calvo, director of the paleontological centre of the National University of Comahue, Argentina, and lead author of a study on the dinosaur published in the peer-reviewed Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. The huge fossil was found about 90 kilometers north of Neuquén, by the shores of the Barreales artificial lake. Besides the atypical skeleton, pre-historical fishes, seashells and two crocodiles were also found, allowing scientists to "reconstruct the ecosystem of the upper cretaceous, with an unprecedented precision," a member of the team said. The skeleton of a Mega raptor, with a 40-centimetre claw, was also found, as well as pterosaurs (flying dinosaurs) and prehistoric fossilized jungle leaves. Patagonia also was home to the other two largest dinosaur skeletons found to date: Argentinasaurus, at around 35 metres long; and Puertasaurus reuili, 35-40 metres long. Comparison between the three herbivores, however, is difficult, because scientists have only found a few vertebrae of the Puertasaurus while the skeleton of the Futalognkosaurus is fairly complete.