80-Foot-Long Dinosaur From 122 Million Years Ago Unearthed in Spain Among Largest Sauropods Found

A new dinosaur was recently unearthed in Spain, and it was gigantic. According to the researchers, it was among the biggest sauropods ever found.

Gigantic Dinosaur Discovered in Spain

Researchers have finally identified a previously unknown "giant" dinosaur that existed 122 million years ago. A group of paleontologists named the new species of dinosaur Garumbatitan morellensis.

They named the species based on fossils found in Morella, a municipality in the autonomous community of Valencia in eastern Spain. The bones of Garumbatitan morellensis were first discovered in 2005 and 2008 at the Sant Antoni de la Vespa fossil site in Morella. The place is among the areas with the highest concentrations of sauropod dinosaur fossils from the Early Cretaceous period, roughly 145-100 million years ago.

In reference to the fact that this specimen was discovered near the base of the Mola de la Garumba, one of the highest reliefs in the area, the dinosaur was named Garumbatitan, meaning "giant of Garumba." The location of the fossil deposit, Morella, is mentioned in the second part of the name.

According to Pedro Mocho, the study's lead author, identifying the new species is based on the bones of at least three "fantastic specimens" discovered at the location.

One of the specimens is notable for its size, with vertebrae that are more than three feet wide and a femur (the upper bone of the leg) that may have been over six feet in length.

Mocho, a paleontologist at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, said the researchers also discovered two nearly complete and articulated feet, which is "particularly rare" in the geological record. According to researchers, the dinosaur might have grown to be more than 80 feet long and more than 30 feet tall when it was alive.

Paleontologists José Miguel Gasulla and Francisco Ortega from Spain's National University of Distance Education said it was probably one of the "most gigantic" dinosaurs ever seen. It was so big that it might have been able to eat 65 to 90 pounds of vegetation every day.

The brand-new dinosaur is a member of the well-known sauropod family, including the largest terrestrial animals ever walking the planet. These quadrupedal dinosaurs had long necks and tails and small heads and thick legs and could reach enormous sizes.

The most recent paper provides the first formal description of the newly discovered species, stressing many anatomical traits that set this dinosaur apart from other sauropods, including the femur's peculiar shape and the foot's components.

What Is Sauropod?

Sauropod is any member of the dinosaur subgroup Sauropoda species. They are enormous dinosaurs with long necks and tails, a four-legged stance, and a herbivorous habit. These reptiles were the biggest terrestrial animals ever and the biggest of all the dinosaurs.

Despite their massive size, they have a small head on an incredibly long neck, a massive body holding an enormous belly, stout, pillar-like legs to support the torso, and a very long, tapered, frequently whip-like tail. With a large hip girdle linked to the spine, often by five sacral vertebrae, this configuration supported the body and tail firmly. The sides of the backbone were hollowed out, which helped it weigh less while maintaining structural integrity.

Sauropods were widely dispersed. Their bones or footprints have been discovered on every continent but Antarctica. With a large geographic range, sauropods also had one of the longest lifespans among all dinosaur species, with some living 100 or so million years from the Lower Jurassic to the Upper Cretaceous. The peak of sauropod abundance in history occurred around the end of the Jurassic.

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