Here is Patagotitan mayorum, the largest of all dinosaurs

About 100 million years ago, in the present Patagonia, young titanosaurs lived in a floodplain that later became a desert in Patagonia. Their fossilized remains have just revealed a new species that could very well be the largest among all dinosaurs. Its name: Patagotitan mayorum .

In terms of dinosaurs , Argentina and Patagonia regularly occupy the center stage for more than a decade. It is with reason that some of the earliest specimens have been found, such as Herrerasaurus , and among the largest, such as Argentinosaurus . The latter is part of the Titanosauria (titanosauria), a group of herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs dominating in the late Cretaceous period and whose representatives are found throughout the world, including France.
In 2012, an employee of the La Flecha ranch in Patagonia, owned by the Mayo family, reported the presence of fossilized bones. When the importance of the site was realized, the paleontologists began to flock to come to search. No fewer than six animals have been identified in the more than 150 fossils unearthed by fifteen researchers, geologists and students, free hosted by the Mayo. These were clearly the remains of probably young individuals of a new species of dinosaur of very large size but whose nature was still unclear.

The largest titanosaurus? Not sure
From 2013, however, it became clear that it was a titanosaurian and perhaps the largest dinosaur discovered to date, so this discovery was quickly publicized and that the documentary BBC it Had been consecrated. It was still too early, however, to give him a name and to say with certainty that a new size record had been established.
Paleontologists patiently worked for four years comparing the data collected from the study of the bones to those of the other major known sauropods of the Cretaceous and they have now published their findings in an article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London .

Photo taken at the time of the excavations, in 2013, showing the femur of 2.40 m long. The paleontologist Diego Pol, of the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio, poses in front of him. © Museo paleontologico Egidio Feruglio (MEF)

Patagotitan mayorum , a titanosaur of 70 tons
Patagotitan mayorum has just entered the world of the Titanosaurs. It is indeed a " Patagonia Titan " ( Patagotitan ) and it "belongs" to the Mayo family, hence the term mayorum , in his honor and to thank him for his help for the excavations, .
The laws of biomechanics make it possible to estimate the weight of a vertebrate according to the characteristics of its bones, which must bear its weight. Those of the largest of these fossils were scanned by laser , which made it possible to reconstitute the skeleton of Patagotitan mayorum on computer and then to add flesh. The paleontologists conclude that it could weigh about 70 tons, the weight of about 10 African elephants. He could measure about 37 meters long and 8 meters at the withers. A molding of its skeleton has already been exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in 2016.