Scientists Identify New Giant Dinosaur Species in Thailand

Bangkok. Scientists have identified a new species of long-necked giant dinosaur from remains found during excavations in Thailand. It is claimed to be the largest dinosaur found in Southeast Asia so far.

Named 'Nagatythan', this dinosaur weighs 27 tons, equivalent to nine adult Asian elephants, and is 27 meters long, scientists said. This dinosaur belongs to the 'Sauropod' family of long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs.

A team of researchers from Britain and Thailand identified this species from fossils found near a pond in northeastern Thailand a decade ago. This discovery sheds new light on how changes in ancient climate conditions helped in the evolution of giant dinosaurs.

Its full name has been kept as 'Nagatythan chaiyaphumensis'. Here, 'Naga' means the serpent in Southeast Asian folklore, 'Titan' means the god from Greek mythology, and 'Chaiyaphumensis' is understood to mean from the province 'Chaiyaphum' where the remains were found.

This dinosaur existed 100 to 120 million years ago, which is about 40 million years before the famous 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'. The lead author of this study, published in the journal 'Scientific Reports', is Thai student Thitiput Sethapanichsakul from University College London (UCL). He has described it as Thailand's 'Last Titan'.

According to Thitiput, it is called the last titan because the remains were found in the newest rock formations in Thailand where dinosaurs are found.

He said, 'The chances of finding dinosaur remains in new rocks formed as the dinosaur era was ending are low because by then this area had turned into a shallow sea. Therefore, this could be the last or the most recent giant sauropod we find in Southeast Asia.'