Dinosaur twice the size of a T-Rex discovered in Thailand
- Published
Think a T-rex is big? Think again.
A new type of giant long-necked dinosaur has been identified by scientists in Thailand, called the Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis.
It's twice the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex and weighs around 27 tonnes, as heavy as nine adult Asian elephants!
The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the UK and Thailand, who found the fossils a decade ago.
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Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul posed with a front leg bone of the Nagatitan
The Nagatitan lived between 100 and 120 million years ago and is part of the sauropod family of long-necked herbivores.
It's full name is Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, and for good reason.
"Naga" is a serpent in South-East Asian folk tales, "titan" refers to the gods in Greek mythology, and chaiyaphumensis means "from Chaiyaphum", which is the province where the fossils were found.
The lead researcher, who calls himself a "dinosaur kid", was very excited to name the creature.
Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul says the discovery has fulfilled "a childhood promise of naming a dinosaur".
If you discovered a dinosaur, what would you call it? Let us know in the comments below.
