‘World’s biggest dinosaur’ remains found in Argentine desert
A thigh bone from the ‘world’s biggest dinosaur’ (Picture: AFP / Getty)

The remains of a dinosaur believed to be the largest animal ever to walk the Earth have been discovered in Argentina.

Gigantic fossilised bones of the previously unknown creature were unearthed by a farm worker in a desert about 250km (135 miles) west of the city of Trelew.

The 40m (130ft) long and 20m (65ft) tall dinosaur, which has not yet been named, would have lived in the forests of Patagonia between 95 and 100 million years ago, according to experts.

It weighed 77 tonnes, making it as heavy as 14 African elephants, and would have been as tall as a ‘seven-storey building when standing with its neck up’, it is claimed.

‘Given the size of these bones, which surpass any of the previously known giant animals, the new dinosaur is the largest animal known that walked on Earth,’ the researchers told BBC News.

‘It will be named describing its magnificence and in honour to both the region and the farm owners who alerted us about the discovery.’

The new dinosaur is similar to the Argentinosaurus ( SPL)

A team of palaeontologists from the Museum of Palaeontology excavated the site where they found around 150 bones in ‘remarkable condition’ from the partial skeletons of seven individuals.

They believe the dinosaur is a new species of titanosaur, a giant herbivore, and estimated its length and height based on the size of its thigh bone.

Dr Paul Barrett, a dinosaur expert from London’s Natural History Museum, cautioned that without a complete skeleton ‘the animal’s proportions and overall shape are conjectural’.