65-Ton Dinosaur Skeleton Found in Argentina
Dinosaurs have always been arguably the most fascinating creatures to ever walk the face of the earth. It's nearly impossible to imagine reptiles the size of small houses roaming about the planet eating everything in their path. Just when scientists thought they had discovered the biggest of these beasts, an ongoing archeological dig in Argentina lead to the uncovering of a long-necked dinosaur that appears to be the size of a two story house.
Scientists have cited that it is highly unusual for a dinosaur to be so well preserved. When one takes into account that the big lizard has been buried for upwards of 77 million years, it's amazing that any skeletal structure still remains. Archeologists were astonished to find that their dig was able to uncover 70 percent of the dinosaurs bones.
"I think the big herbivores don't get their due for being intimidating," said study lead author Ken Lacovara, an associate professor of paleontology and geology at Drexel University.
Lacovara decided to name the gigantic creature Dreadnoughtus schrani, which means, "steel warship," to represent the massive nature of the creature. "I thought that Dreadnoughtus would be a good name for these dinosaurs, which does two things: It means 'fears nothing,' and this dinosaur would have had nothing to fear. It also connotes something big like a battleship."
Lacovara initially came across Dreadnoughtus in 2005. Lacovara assumed as usual that only a couple of bones would turn up, but almost 10 years later, the team has wound up with 70 percent of a completed dinosaur, which is the most complete find ever for a dinosaur of this magnitude.
"It turned into a 6-foot-plus-long femur, which was nice, but I kind of figured that this was going to be an isolated bone," Lacovara told Live Science. "And then we uncovered the tibia, and then we uncovered the fibula. By the end of the day, we had 10 bones exposed. And four years later, we had 145 bones exposed."
Scientists like Lacovara are dedicated to uncovering a prehistoric world that still existents underneath our current soil. Their contributions may seem fantastical, but the purpose of such studies is only to explore the fascinating history of planet Earth.