Do you have a dinosaur-obsessed child?
The announcement of the Dreadnoughtus dinosaur, one of the
largest dinos discovered to date, is sure to knock the socks off of
dinophiles young and old. This dinosaur would have weighed in at 65
tons. Kenneth Lacovara, PhD of Drexel University discovered
Dreadnoughtus schrani and
compares its weight to that of 12 African elephants or more than 7
T-rex! Dreadnoughtus schrani is
a member of a group of dinosaurs called Titanosaurs.
Titanosaurs had a wide range of sizes, the largest of which, up until
now, have remained a mystery to us. Usually only a few fossils are
found from each specimen. In the case of the Dreadnoughtus
archeologists recovered 70% of
the skeleton, making it almost complete. Dreadnoughtus
schrani was a plant eating
sauropod dinosaur. It was unearthed in Patagonia. The name
Dreadnoughtus means
"fears nothing", making it an excellent moniker for this
house sized creature. It will be fascinating to see what else we
learn about these massive creatures as discoveries like this
continue.
Read
more:
Dinosaur Activities and Resources:
Teaching
Dinosaur Science: Tips and Resources for Parents
Make a
Fossil!
Field
Guide from Dinosaur Train on PBS
Paleontology
Activities from the American Museum of Natural History
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