Brazil has announced the discovery of the largest dinosaur, Austroposeidon magnificus, believed to have been about 25 meters (82 feet) in length.
On Oct. 6, the fossils of the biggest dinosaur were taken out of the cupboard, and for the first time displayed for public viewing after more than 60 years.
The prehistoric creature was said to have walked Earth 66 million years ago. The fossils of the Brazilian beast were found by paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1953.
What he found was a few fossilized bits of the dinosaur's neck and spinal vertebrae near Presidente Prudente in São Paulo. The vestiges of the spinal vertebra of Austroposeidon magnificus were as big as a microwave oven. A small portion of the vertebrae is also kept on a black cloth in the upper room of the museum.
Price died in 1980 without getting any recognition for the major discovery. Diogenes de Almeida Campos, director of Museum of Earth Sciences in Rio de Janeiro, said that six decades were a long gap in studying the big find.
According to experts, the fossils of the dinosaur belonged to the Titanosaur group of herbivores, which had features like large bodies, necks and tails yet small skulls. Evidence suggests that they lived during the Cretaceous period in today's South America, Africa, Antarctica and Australia.
Price faced the problem of plenty as he had too many specimen to identify. That made it difficult for him to spare enough time to study the Austroposeidon magnificus. Another reason for the fossils remaining under wraps for 60 years was the lack of staff at the museum.
Campos also talked about the plight of dinosaur research in Brazil and said lack of money was holding back many efforts. He cited the shortage of people in the field and noted that only 10 serious dinosaur experts are working in the country.
The specimen recently got a new focus when Kamila Bandeira, one of Campos' students, made it a doctoral thesis and researched on it for four years.
Cousin Of Argentinian Monster
Austroposeidon magnificent is believed to be the cousin of the largest dinosaur uncovered in Argentina called the Argentinosaurus huinculensis. In 2014, the bones of the 130-foot-long Titanosaur were accidentally discovered in a site of a road construction.
Similar to other dinosaurs, there were only a few found fossilized bones of the Austroposeidon magnificus, and this indicates an abrupt end to the creatures.
Spectacular dinosaur discoveries have notably happened in deserts or bare areas, mainly in places like the southwest part of the United States, south of Argentina or Mongolia.
