Paleontologists in Argentina have discovered a new species of long-necked, duck-beaked dinosaur that went extinct 90 million years ago in Patagonia, the Argentine government's scientific and research agency CONICET said.
The fossil remains belong to four Rebbachisauridae dinosaurs baptized as “Sidersaura marae.” The name comes from the Latin term for “star,” chosen after shape of its tail bones.
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Excavations began in 2012 in the Neuquen province at a site with rocks that date from the Late Cretaceous period, around 93 and 96 million years ago. With an estimated weight of 15 tonnes and a length of 20 meters (65 feet), the Sidersaura marae is considered the biggest Rebbachisauridae dinosaurs.
The bones are under a big sandstone of about two meters in size (six feet) which is making the extraction a little difficult.
Such discoveries help understand the presence of dinosaurs on earth and the evolution cycle. For instance, in 2023, team of scientists from IIT-Roorkee and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) discovered the fossils of oldest known dicraeosaurid (long-necked plant-eating dinosaur), marking the first discovery of dicraeosaurid dinosaur in India.
(Input from Reuters)
