Scientists have found the remains of a dinosaur 37.2 m long and weighing about 48 tons, which is recognized as the largest known land lizards, according to the journal Scientific Reports.
This superreptile lived on Earth about 100 million years ago, about 10 million years earlier than other members of its genus - titanosaurs. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the found dinosaur is the longest on Earth. It is 37.2 m long, which is about a third of the length of a football field.
Initially, this dinosaur was ranked as Notocolossus gonzalezparejasi. Representatives of this species lived in the vicinity of Patagonia during the Cretaceous period about 86 million years ago. Lizards had a long neck and a tail similar in length, which protected them from enemies. However, later paleontologists changed their mind - they decided that the found dinosaur was a representative of a different species. The fact is that the giant lived much earlier.
Thanks to the remains, scientists have understood how these giant creatures moved across the Earth. It turned out that the huge vertebrae of the dinosaurs were filled with air. Thus, the bones were strong but light, which allowed the Titans of the Cretaceous period to confidently move around the Earth.