14 billion year-old dinosaur fossils unearthed in Argentina
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Scientists have unearthed 66-feet long dinosaur fossils which may be traced back to about 14 billion years. The fossils were discovered in Neuquén province in Argentina's Patagonia region, a recent study revealed.
Researchers have identified fossils to be that of Ninjatitan zapatai, one of the titanosaurs that are considered to be the largest species to live on Earth. They lived during the Cretaceous period, which existed and faded out about 66 million years ago. The ninjatitans were long-necked and plant-eating dinosaurs.
The average discovered size of titanosaurs is 20 metres though it is believed that dinosaurs up to 35 metres existed during the time. After the latest discovery, scientists believe that the early titanosaurs lived more in the Southern Hemisphere.
"This discovery is also very important for the knowledge of the evolutionary history of sauropods because the fossil records of the Early Cretaceous epoch, in around 140 million years ago, are really very scarce throughout the world," said Pablo Gallina, lead author and a researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET), to Reuters.
The study is published in the journal Ameghiniana.
