The largest dinosaur ever discovered has been unearthed in Argentina. It is believed to have roamed that area 100 million years in the past.
The monster beast stood 65 feet tall and stretched 130 feet long, from head to tail. Paleontologists believe this massive creature weighed around 85 tons, making it eight tons heavier than Argentinosaurus, the previous record holder for weight.
No name has yet been given to the newly-discovered species.
"It will be named describing its magnificence and in honor to both the region and the farm owners who alerted us about the discovery," researchers told BBC News.
The animals are believed to be a previously-unknown species of Titanosaurs, a form of sauropod. These giant dinosaurs were herbivores, using their lengthy necks to chew plant life. Titanosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous period, the final age of the dinosaurs.
Estimates of the weight and length are based on thigh bones, so researchers need to take some educated guesses as to the exact structure of much of the body. If estimates of the size and weight of the dinosaur prove accurate, this species will be known as the largest animal to ever walk the face of the Earth. The creature may have weighed as much as 14 full-grown African elephants. When Argentinosarus was first discovered, it was believed to weigh 30 percent more than later estimates determined to be the actual weight.
The fossils were discovered by a local farm worker who found the artifacts in a desert outside La Flecha, 135 miles west of Trelew in Patagonia.
Paleontologists from the Museum of Palaeontology Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, Argentina unearthed the remains for examination. Jose Luis Carballido and Diego Pol led the excavation, which found more than 150 bones, the remains of an estimated seven individuals. The fossils were found to be in excellent condition, despite the age of the artifacts.
"It's like two trucks with a trailer each, one in front of the other, and the weight of 14 elephants together. This is a real paleontological treasure. There are plenty of remains and many were nearly intact, which is unusual," José Luis Carballido, lead paleontologist of the excavation, told the press.
At the time Argentiosaurus and this newly-discovered species lived, North and South America had not yet joined, leaving each as independent continents. The earlier record-holder for largest land animal ever was discovered in 1987, in the same region of Patagonia as the new find. This species was also discovered on accident, by a rancher who believed the giant fossils were petrified wood.
