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A Man Spotted Strange-Looking Rocks Near a Pond in Thailand. They Turned Out to Be the Bones of a Massive New Dinosaur Species
Key takeaways
- Patchanop Boonsai Paleontologists in Thailand have identified a new dinosaur—and it may be the largest one ever unearthed in Southeast Asia.
- Named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, the long-necked, plant-eating behemoth likely stretched more than 88 feet long and weighed nearly 30 U.S.
- The strange specimens weren’t rocks, however, but the fossilized remains of a prehistoric giant.
Patchanop Boonsai Paleontologists in Thailand have identified a new dinosaur—and it may be the largest one ever unearthed in Southeast Asia.
Named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, the long-necked, plant-eating behemoth likely stretched more than 88 feet long and weighed nearly 30 U.S. tons as it lumbered around 100 million to 120 million years ago, according to a study published May 14 in the journal Scientific Reports.
The bones were discovered in 2016 in Chaiyaphum Province, located in northeastern Thailand, after a local man named Thanom Luangnan spotted some unusual-looking rocks protruding from the banks of a public pond, reports National Geographic’s Riley Black. The strange specimens weren’t rocks, however, but the fossilized remains of a prehistoric giant.