he new species, named Uragasaurus kalasinensis, was found by a group of researchers led by Dr. Apirut Nilpanapan
Credit: Artwork by Pakorn Chotchaiyaporn
NEED TO KNOW
- A new dinosaur species with a neck as long as 66 feet has been found in Thailand
- Scientists discovered the new species, Uragasaurus kalasinensis, from fossils dating back to the late Jurassic period
- The species belongs to the Mamenchisauridae family
Scientists have found a new dinosaur species believed to have lived around 150 million years ago.
The new species, named Uragasaurus kalasinensis, was found in Thailand by a group of researchers led by Dr. Apirut Nilpanapan from Mahasarakham University, according to recent reports by the BBC and NBC News.
While the dinosaur is believed to have lived around 150 million years ago in what is now known as northeast Thailand, the new study, which was published in Nature on Wednesday, July 8, has now helped researchers identify the previously unknown species, NBC News reported.
The dinosaur was part of the Mamenchisauridae family, known for their long necks that reached up to 66 feet, per BBC.
Credit: Scientific Reports (Sci Rep)
As part of the study, researchers looked at preserved bones and compared their anatomy to long-necked sauropods, per NBC News.
Scientists also analyzed the internal and external structures of the bones via CT scanning and 3D reconstruction techniques.
Researchers concluded that the features that did not match any known species were remains of a new mamenchisaurid dinosaur.
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A dorsal vertebra, a bone that’s part of either the middle or upper back, was the fossil that led to the scientists’ discovery, per the outlet.
Nilpanapan told BBC Thai that a unique air-cavity structure in the bones was “unlike any other dinosaur in the world… That’s what sets it apart.”
Credit: Artwork by Pakorn Chotchaiyaporn
The discovery was made in Phu Noi, which has a wide variety of fossils from the late Jurassic period, per NBC News and the BBC.
Nilpanapan told BBC that he was so “exhilarated and relieved” about finding a new species that he smashed his computer.
With most fossils from the Mamenchisauridae family being found in China, the discovery is the first to be made in Thailand, per the outlets.
“It shows that the population here might have migrated or spread from south China to Southeast Asia,” Nilpanapan told NBC News.
PEOPLE reported in May that scientists had identified a different type of long-necked herbivorous dinosaur named the Nagatitan from fossils found in Thailand.
The Nagatitan is the largest dinosaur ever found in Southeast Asia, measuring 88 feet and weighing over 29 tons.
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