Man Finds Skeleton – Turns Out It’s the Largest Dinosaur Ever Found in Europe

Imagine waking up one fine day, only to find out that one of the most gigantic creatures to have ever walked the Earth once resided in your backyard.

image

The research carried out at the Monte Agudo paleontological site underlines the importance of the fossil record of vertebrates in the Pombal region (Portugal). Image credit: Instituto Dom Luiz (Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon)

That’s exactly what happened to a man from the city of Pombal in Portugal, while carrying out some construction work in his garden back in 2017. He discovered fragments of fossilized bones of what looked like a enormous dinosaur!

The man than contacted researchers from the University of Lisbon, who began unearthing the vertebrae and ribs of what they think is a brachiosaurid sauropod – a herbivorous, long-necked quadrupedal dinosaur – earlier this month. The gigantic, 39-foot-tall sauropod – probably the biggest of all dinosaurs and the largest land animal ever to have lived – roamed this area during the Late Jurassic Period about 160 to 100 million years ago.

image

Researchers excavate the fossilized ribs of a sauropod at the Monte Agudo paleontological site in Pombal, Portugal. Image credit: Instituto Dom Luiz (Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal)

Given the natural position that the skeleton was found in, paleontologists are hopeful that further excavation may uncover more parts of the same dinosaur.

“It is not common for all of an animal’s ribs to be preserved in this condition, much less in their original anatomical position. This preservation method is relatively uncommon in the fossil record of dinosaurs, especially sauropods, from the Portuguese Upper Jurassic,” says Elizabeth Malafaya, University of Lisbon, Portugal (Ciencias Ulísboa) Graduate Researcher, Faculty of Science.

image

The sauropod’s ribs were preserved in their original anatomical position. Image credit: Instituto Dom Luiz (Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal)

The fossils were found in Upper Jurassic sedimentary rocks, suggesting they are about 150m years old.

“[This discovery] confirms that the region of Pombal has an important fossil record of Late Jurassic vertebrates, which in the last decades has provided the discovery of abundant materials very significant for the knowledge of the continental faunas that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula at about 145m years ago,” Malafaia added.

Parts of the unearthed remains are yet to be treated in a laboratory to remove all the sediments. Once that’s done, further studies will be conducted for accurate identification and exhibition.

Related Posts

The Truth Behind Building the Egyptian Pyramids Finally Uncovered After 5,000 Years

Oпe sigпificaпt revelatioп came from a team of iпterпatioпal scieпtists who proposed that the aпcieпt Egyptiaпs υsed water to facilitate the movemeпt of massive stoпe blocks. As depicted iп aпcieпt tomb art, laborers were showп poυriпg water iп froпt …

Read more

Breaking News of Ancient Echoes: 12,000-Year-Old Farewell Rituals Unearthed in Aréne Candide Ice Age Cave

B𝚛𝚘k𝚎n st𝚘n𝚎s 𝚋𝚞𝚛i𝚎𝚍 12,000 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛s 𝚊𝚐𝚘 h𝚊ʋ𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎n 𝚏𝚘𝚞n𝚍 𝚊t A𝚛𝚎n𝚎 C𝚊n𝚍i𝚍𝚎, 𝚊 c𝚊ʋ𝚎 th𝚊t w𝚊s 𝚞s𝚎𝚍 𝚊s 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚊ʋ𝚎𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚍𝚞𝚛in𝚐 th𝚎 l𝚊st Ic𝚎 A𝚐𝚎. In th𝚎 P𝚊l𝚎𝚘lithic 𝚎𝚛𝚊, A𝚛𝚎n𝚎 C𝚊n𝚍i𝚍𝚎 w𝚊s 𝚊 s𝚘𝚛t 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚊𝚛l𝚢 n𝚎c𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚘lis. It is 𝚊 c𝚊ʋ𝚎 in Li𝚐𝚞𝚛i𝚊, It𝚊l𝚢, in which 19 𝚋𝚞𝚛i𝚊l …

Read more

Rewriting History: Modern Archaeologist Discovers Astonishing 50-Foot Giant Humanoid Skeleton

In a groundbreaking discovery that has sent shock waves through the archaeological community, a modern-day Indiana Jones has unearthed an ancient burial site containing a 50-foot tall giant humanoid skeleton. This unprecedented find, located in the remote …

Read more

Diving into the Ocean’s Airplane Graveyard: Untold Stories of American Aviation

The ‘Airplane Cemetery’ Beneath the Ocean: Discovering the Hidden Stories of American Aviation. Beneath the vast expanse of the ocean lies a realm shrouded in mystery, where the relics of human endeavor lay silent and forgotten. Among these underwater …

Read more

Groundbreaking Mars Discovery: Scientists Uncover New Findings That Could Change Everything!

Scientists have made a terrifying new discovery on Mars that could change everything we know about the Red Planet. In a recent study published in the journal Science, researchers found evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars. The study focused on a …

Read more

Top 20 Most Controversial Findings in US History You Probably Didn’t Know

Arсhaeology often unсovers remnаnts of the рast thаt сhallenge our underѕtanding of hіstory, but ѕome dіscoverіes аre ѕo сontroversial thаt they іgnіte debаtes аnd ѕkepticiѕm. A reсent vіdeo ѕhedѕ lіght on ѕeveral ѕuch аrchаeologicаl fіnds іn the Unіted …

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *