The nation of Argentina has been the location of some significant dinosaur bone discoveries in the past. The remains of some of the largest dinosaur species ever discovered have been located within present day Argentina. This past week, paleontologists made a discovery in Argentina that took them by surprise.
A team working out of the National University of La Matanza was excavating an area in the middle of the country when they discovered the remains of three dinosaurs that have never been seen before. The bones belonged to three individuals. One of the dinosaurs was an adult at the time of its death, and the other two were juveniles when they perished.
The scientists where able to find a complete skull from one of the dinosaurs. Several other bones were located including a neck, a tail, teeth and a back. Scientists were able to find enough bones to make almost a complete reconstruction. When they fully analyzed their discovery, they found that this dinosaur species was a new discovery. They have named the new species Lavocatisaurus argioensis. These dinosaurs are part of the sauropod family of dinosaurs that include the massive brontosaurus. These dinosaurs were plant eaters with very long necks, massive bodies and extremely long tails.
The largest of the three members of this newly discovered species measures about 12 meters in length. This would make the new species smaller than the most massive members of the sauropod group.
One thing that has puzzled the scientists who made the discovery is where the bones were found. The area of discovery would have been a very arid region when the dinosaurs lived. There would have been only limited areas of water and not an abundance of vegetation. The researchers are still trying to work out how the dinosaurs came to be in such an unlikely area.
