A new dinosaur discovery from Argentina gives fresh evidence and insight into the rise of the giants. A predecessor to the giants such as the brachiosaurus, this new discovering dubbed “the first giant” is a remarkable one.
The animal used a novel strategy to become super-sized, involving very fast growth spurts and efficient bird-like lungs, say palaeontologists.
The fossil was found in the northwest of Argentina during a field trip. The scientists found four skeletons in all, one of a new species and three of related dinosaurs.
We could see that it was a new species that we named Ingentia prima,” said Dr Cecilia Apaldetti of Universidad Nacional de San Juan in Argentina. “That in Latin means the ‘first giant’.”
The dinosaur dates back to the Triassic, about 47 million years before the iconic long-necked plant-eaters Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus appeared on the scene.
It wasn’t as large, weighing about 10 tonnes. But its discovery is a surprise, coming so early in dinosaur evolution.
