Southeast Asia's Largest Sauropod Identified in Thailand

Paleontologists have identified the largest long-necked herbivorous dinosaur ever found in Southeast Asia, a massive sauropod named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, from fossils unearthed near a pond in Thailand's northeastern Chaiyaphum province.

The creature, which lived about 100 to 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period, measured roughly 27 meters long and weighed around 27 tons, comparable to nine adult Asian elephants. Researchers estimated its size based on bones including vertebrae, ribs, a pelvis and a front leg bone, or humerus, measuring 1.78 meters long, nearly the height of an average adult human. The fossils were first spotted by locals around 2016, with excavations continuing until funding ended in 2020. A 2023 grant from the National Geographic Society enabled the team to complete the analysis.

Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a PhD student at University College London and lead author of the study published in Scientific Reports, described the find as "Thailand's last titan." He noted that the fossils come from the country's youngest dinosaur-bearing rock layers. "We won't find any more dinosaur fossils in any younger rocks in Thailand, making this...