Latest news with #Chadititan
Miami Herald
05-03-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Prehistoric ‘gentle giant' — nearly 23 feet long — found in Argentina. See new species
Nearly 80 million years ago, a small pond oasis was home to a variety of creatures both in the water and on land. Tropical air-breathing snails lined its shores and shelled creatures lay just below the surface. The water hole was surrounded by palm trees and sand dunes during the late Cretaceous period, but since then, the environment has changed drastically. Today, this area is known as the Anacleto Formation in northern Patagonia in Argentina and consists of a massive salt flat. It's also the site of a new prehistoric species discovery. A group of paleontologists and researchers from Argentina and Uruguay, led by National Geographic explorer Diego Pol, were working in the salt flats when they discovered fossilized bones, according to a March 5 news release from National Geographic. Paleontologists uncovered nine vertebrae, parts of the front leg, and part of the pelvis and bones from the back legs, as well as toes that couldn't be attributed to one limb, according to a study published March 5 in the peer-reviewed journal Revista del Museo Argentino Ciencias Naturales. The bones belonged to a new species of titanosaur, a long-necked and herbivorous dinosaur considered a 'gentle giant,' researchers said. Chadititan calvoi, or the 'titan of the salt,' was a 'very small and gracile-built' titanosaur compared to other related species, according to the study. Based on the lengths of the bones discovered, the animal was likely about 23 feet long, researchers said, while other titanosaurs could reach lengths of up to 100 feet long. The dinosaur's 'slender' body was evident from 'its well-preserved bones' that show 'it had elongated (vertebrae) and delicate limb bones that set it apart from its relatives,' according to National Geographic. While the new species was the most significant part of the paleontologists' discovery, they found other evidence of prehistoric life at the same site. 'In addition to Chadititan, the fossils we identified of mollusks, fish and turtles enriches our understanding of this ancient ecosystem and expands our knowledge of life in Patagonia near the end of the dinosaur era,' Pol said in the release. 'In this case, the abundance of turtles and scarcity of crocodiles compared to regions in Europe and North America during the same period further highlights how Patagonia ecosystems were distinct as the continents drifted apart during the Cretaceous.' The fossils and Anacleto Formation were dated to roughly 78 million years ago, researchers said. 'One of the most remarkable aspects of the discovered fauna is the overwhelming abundance of freshwater turtles, which make up more than 90% of the recovered fossils. This percentage is highly unusual,' said Federico Agnolin, the first author on the paper. Pol's work in Patagonia has yielded exciting results before. In April, National Geographic announced the discovery of another new species of small titanosaur found at the La Colonia Formation in Patagonia by Pol and his team, McClatchy News reported. The team did it again in May, announcing the discovery of a new species of abelisaurid, a short-armed predator, McClatchy News reported. Patagonia is a geographic region in southern Argentina and Chile, covering the entirety of the southern tip of South America. The research team includes Pol, Agnolín, Matías J. Motta, Jordi Garcia Marsà, Mauro A. Aranciaga-Rolando, Gerardo Álvarez-Herrera, Sebastian Rozadilla, Federico Brissón-Egli, Mauricio A. Cerroni, Karen M. Panzeri, Sergio Bogan, Silvio Casadio, Juliana Sterli, Sergio E. Miquel, Sergio Martínez, Leandro M. Pérez and Fernando E. Novas.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New 22-foot-long titanosaur discovered in Argentina
A team of paleontologists found a new long-necked dinosaur species near a large salt flat in Argentina. Chadititan calvoi, or 'titan of the salt' is estimated to have been about 22 feet-long and lived about 78 million years ago. The new species of titanosaur is described in a study published March 5 in the journal Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. From its well-preserved bones, the paleontologists believe that Chadititan was a small and slender dinosaur, with elongated vertebrae and delicate limbs that set it apart from other titanosaurs. It was an herbivore and belonged to the Rinconsaurian group. This newly discovered titanosaur species was found in what was once a shallow pond during the Cretaceous Period. CREDIT: Gabriel Diaz Yanten. The bones were uncovered near a salt flat in the Anacleto Formation in northern Patagonia, Argentina and found among fossils of ancient snails, garfishes, crocodile relatives, clams, freshwater turtles, and other organisms. Among this prehistoric treasure trove, the team uncovered the first fossil record of a family of tropical land snails–Neocyclotidae–and the first example of a small, tropical air-breathing land snail in the genus Leptinaria. This area was once a small pond surrounded by sand dunes and palm trees in what was a more arid and dry environment. 'In addition to Chadititan, the fossils we identified of mollusks, fish, and turtles, enriches our understanding of this ancient ecosystem and expands our knowledge of life in Patagonia near the end of the dinosaur era,' Diego Pol, a study co-author, paleontologist, and National Geographic Explorer, said in a statement. 'Just by looking at the presence or absence of species in an area can suggest what makes the environment unique. In this case, the abundance of turtles and scarcity of crocodiles compared to regions in Europe and North America during the same period further highlights how Patagonian ecosystems were distinct as the continents drifted apart during the Cretaceous.' Freshwater turtles made up over 90 percent of the recovered fossils, which surprised the research team, who represented organizations in Argentina and Uruguay. During the Cretaceous Period, this region was teeming with dinosaurs including megaraptors and Giganotosaurus, but paleontologists did not expect to see this many turtles. 'This high percentage is highly unusual, as in coeval sites from North America and Europe, turtles rarely account for more than 50% of the fauna,' study co-author and paleontologist Federico Agnolin said in a statement. Continued study of the area aims to broaden our scientific understanding of the dinosaurs and other vertebrates that lived in Patagonia during the last 15 million years of the Cretaceous. Pol's work will also build an animal database to help other researchers identify the extinction patterns at the end of the Cretaceous in South America and how they related to other regions of the world.
