COLOSSAL

‘Dreadnoughtus’ Dinosaur Discovered

Weighed 60 tons.

The most complete skeleton ever found of one of the largest creatures ever to walk the Earth has been uncovered in southern Patagonia. More than a hundred bone fragments from the ominously named but vegetarian-only Dreadnoughtus Schrani—named after the dreadnought battleships of the early 20th century—were unearthed, including thigh bones as tall as a man and neck vertebra that measured a three-feet wide. Scientists estimate that Dreadnoughtus weighed almost 60 tons (the weight of seven Tyrannosaurs Rex) and measured 85 feet (26 meters) from snout to tail, making it the biggest land animal for which an accurate body mass can be calculated. Dreadnoughtus lived around 77 million years ago in a forest near the southern tip of South America.