A new super beast appeared in Uruguay, 16 m long

According to Sci-News , the new beast species is named Udelartitan celeste, belonging to a superfamily of titanosaurs called Saltasauroidea.

Titanosaurus - the largest group of dinosaurs in the world, belongs to the sauropod family, are dinosaurs with long necks, heavy bodies, and 4 legs as big as pillars.

Like other "giants" of the titanosaur family, this beast has a body length of up to 15-16 m when alive. The largest representatives of titanosaurs can sometimes reach tens of meters in length.

The beast Udelartitan celeste was identified through 60 fossil vertebrae and eggshells attributed to the Guchón Formation in Uruguay.

According to analysis by Dr. Matias Soto from the Uruguay Institute of Geosciences and his colleagues, the fossil of this new species is about 85 million years old, which means it belongs to the Cretaceous period, also the golden age of dinosaurs. giant.

There have been four species of titanosaurs found in the country since the early twentieth century, but they are all members of a different lineage called Aelosaurini.

The appearance of a new species belonging to the Saltasauroidea group is valuable evidence that this group of giant beasts in Uruguay is very abundant.

According to an article published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research, this new species of beast as well as its entire family of great titanosaurs dominated the supercontinent Gondwana during the Cretaceous period.

Their original homeland was the part of Gondwana that later separated to form the continent of South America today.

Jessica Tanner

Update 03 April 2024