- MADRID -- The biggest dinosaur
in the world has been discovered near the Spanish town of Teruel, Europe's
richest site for dinosaur remains, scientists claim.
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- A fossilised humerus, or forearm, 1.78m (nearly six feet)
long, shown to the public for the first time this week, belonged to a giant
herbivorous sauropod, whose forearms were tiny compared with the huge size
of the rest of its body.
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- Luis Alcala, the palaeontologist who has led the team
investigating the site for the past two years, described the discovery
as "exceptional" and "thrilling". He said: "Up
to now, the biggest humerus we have found in an animal of these characteristics
from the same Cretaceous period was from the Egyptian Paralititan, and
that was l.69m long. So we can assume that the dinosaur we have found in
Teruel is even taller and longer."
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- Apart from being the biggest humerus discovered in Europe,
the fossil was in an extraordinarily good state of preservation, Mr Alcala
said. The find is even more exciting "because of the quantity and
diversity of other bones we have recovered," he added.
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- The gigantic creature that once roamed this part of Europe
is thought to be up to 130 million years old. Ribs, breast bones, pelvis,
vertebrae and enormous back and front feet have also been found. One fingernail
was 40cm long; the smallest rib measures 1.5m. The dimensions suggest the
animal could have been up to 35m long and weighed some 50 tons.
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- A dinosaur this huge is only comparable to the Argentinosaurus,
from Argentina, which was considered the heaviest animal that ever walked
the earth. Its humerus was 1.81m long. But it was a brachiosaurus, "which
is usually more upright, taller and with bigger forearms and shorter legs
than the [sauropod], so it was probably shorter," Mr Alcala said.
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- "We can calculate the overall size by establishing
the proportions from bones like the humerus and vertebrae. We know it is
enormous, but we can't be more precise yet because we're just starting.
It's tremendously exciting."
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- The site at Riodeva, 43km from Teruel, promises to be
a rich mine of dinosaur fossils. Scientists hope to recover more vertebrae,
and the creature's tail and head, and are investigating to see whether
they have discovered a new species. Luis Sanz, a palaeontologist at Madrid's
Autonomous University, said: "If it turns out to be a new species
of dinosaur, the find at Riodeva would be even more important."
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- It used to be thought that giant dinosaurs with huge
body mass and weighing dozens of tons needed to live in water. "But
it is increasingly evident that these great animals were terrestrial creatures,"
Mr Sanz said. They are thought to have been gregarious herbivores, voracious
for food to sustain their enormous bulk.
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- The Iberian peninsula at that time is thought to have
been tropical or semi-tropical, with well-defined wet and dry seasons,
and lush with tree-like ferns, bushes and succulents.
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- The area around Teruel, in Aragon, has long been of palaeontological
interest, with workings that date from the 18th century. Traces of Spain's
first dinosaurs were found in the 19th century, and Teruel recently founded
a museum-cum-theme park - Dinopolis - to celebrate the creatures.
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- But the zone of this latest find is "uncultivated".
Mr Alcala said: "What we have found ... is just the tip of the iceberg.
We will find more remains of this animal and of others belonging to the
same herd. We face at least 10 years' work."
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=495499
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