Fossils of oldest member of huge dinosaur group discovered in Argentina
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The dinosaur's incomplete skeletal remains were discovered south of the city of Neuquen. Researchers said the discovery of fossils, representing a dinosaur species named Ninjatitan zapatai, shows it first appeared longer ago than previously known.
Palaeontologists excavate of dinosaur bones that belonged to a titanosaur in Neuquen province, Argentina February 19, 2017. (Reuters)
Scientists have unearthed in Argentina's Patagonian wilderness fossils of what may be the oldest-known member of the dinosaur group known as titanosaurs that includes the largest land animals in Earth's history.
Researchers said on Monday the fossils represent a dinosaur species named Ninjatitan zapatai that lived 140 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. They identified Ninjatitan as a titanosaur, a group of long-necked plant-eating dinosaurs that walked on four pillar-like legs.
The dinosaur's incomplete skeletal remains were discovered south of the city of Neuquen. The researchers said Ninjatitan demonstrated that the titanosaurs as a group first appeared longer ago than previously known.
"It is the oldest record known, not only from Argentina but worldwide," study lead author Pablo Gallina, a researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET), told Reuters. "Titanosaurs are recorded on various sides of the world, but the oldest-known records were more modern than this find."
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https://www.trtworld.com/life/fossils-of-oldest-member-of-huge-dinosaur-group-discovered-in-argentina-44644
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