Updated on Friday, September 01, 2006, 00:00 IST

Buenos Aires, Sept 01: Argentine Palaeontologist Fernando Novas revealed a newly discovered dinosaur vertebrae on Friday (July 21) in Buenos Aires.

The vertebrae found are reportedly consistent with large herbivores that are thought to have dominated the Patagonia during most of the Mesozoic Age.

Novas explained that the vertebrae uncovered at Cerro Los Hornos in the province of Santa Cruz indicate that the dinosaur is larger than the Argentinosaurus, previously thought to be the areas largest dinosaur.

"It was a huge surprise when we found these new vertebrae that are much wider than those of the Argentinosaurus. This indicates it a dinosaur as big or bigger, fatter than the Argentinosaurus, which was a very big animal. It may have been 45 to 50 meters long and could have weighed as much as 15 or 20 elephants," Novas explained from the Natural Science Museum in Buenos Aires.

The largest vertebrae from the middle of the back is a massive 1.7 metres, making it bigger than the Argentinosaurus found in the southern province of Neuquen. Neck vertebrae found are 1.2 to 1.4 meters wide.

Findings recently published in Argentina's Natural Science Museum magazine say the dinosaur lived some 70 million years ago, shortly before the mass extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Bureau Report