Scientists may have found the last long-necked dinosaur in Thailand

A new dinosaur discovery in Thailand has revealed that the "last titan," a long-necked dinosaur, lived here up to 120 million years ago. It has been named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, and is the largest sauropod ever found in Southeast Asia. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday (May 14) states that this giant was nearly 90 feet long and weighed around 30 tons. This is "10 tonnes [11 tons] more than Dippy the Diplodocus (Diplodocus carnegii)," Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, lead author of the study, said. a palaeontologist at University College London. While it is large, it weighs less than half of what Patagotitan and Argentinosaurus, the South American sauropods, weighed. The fossils were found in the Khok Kruat Formation in the Chaiyaphum province of northeastern Thailand. They were spotted by a local in 2016 on a bone bed.

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The fossils include several vertebrae, pelvic bones and leg bones, including the dinosaur's thigh bone. Also known as the femur, it was broken into several parts. When combined, it alone measured 6.5 feet in length. It was a type of dinosaur known as a somphospondylan sauropod that lived from the late Jurassic through the Cretaceous period. This dinosaur species lived on every continent in the world during its time. The N. chaiyaphumensis' vertebrae and leg bones are different from any seen in previous sauropods. The dinosaur's genus Nagatitan has been named after Naga, "the mythological serpent-like creature found in various Asian cultures." It is also found in Thailand, the authors wrote in the study.

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No more sauropods in Thailand

The Cretaceous was 145 million to 66 million years ago, during which time this region of Thailand would have been semi-arid. The authors wrote that N. chaiyaphumensis' long body and large surface area would have helped it shed heat and keep cool in the heat. A river system would have existed in the place where the fossils were found, meaning crocodiles, fish and fish-eating pterosaurs would have lived with the Nagatitan. They were found in the youngest rocks in Thailand that are still revealing dinosaur fossils. But the conditions prevented later dinosaur fossils from being formed, the researchers wrote. Sethapanichsakul said, "This may be the last or most recent large sauropod we will find in Southeast Asia."