Largest Dinosaur Fossil

It is difficult to determine the largest dinosaur fossil because many of them are fragmented. The top candidate is a 1.78m (6ft) humerus. The humerus is the bone from the shoulder to the elbow. It was found in Riodeva, Teruel, Spain in 2004.

Biggest Dinosaur Bones Ever?

Aside from the humerus, a 30 cm (1 ft) long was found near it. Based on the remains, archaeologists estimate the dinosaur to have been about 115 ft (35 m) long with a weight of 50 metric tons. The creature may have lived 110 to 130 million years ago around the Cretaceous period.

Full identification has not yet been done. But the initial prognosis is that it was an herbivore sauropod. It is probably similar to the Paralititan. The Paralititan previously held the title of the largest dinosaur fossil at 1.69 m (more than 5.5 ft) long.

By studying the remains, scientists hope to understand facts about what the ecosystem was like during the time of the dinosaurs. The fossils were found in an area encompassing 400 sq m (4,306 sq ft) of land. The fossils were rebuilt by joining together fragments that were dug for 18 months.

Biggest Dinosaur Fossil Site

There are many contenders, but most archaeologists believe that it is Zhucheng City in the eastern Shandong province of China. It is known in China as Dinosaur City. Over 7,000 bones have been found in fifteen distinct zones in the area. According to paleontologist Zhao Xijin, it is the biggest dinosaur fossil site when it comes to area.

The zones have different sizes. One of them is 17 ft deep, 33 ft wide and 985 ft long. When archaeologists started digging, they unearthed more than 3,000 bones.

Discoveries at the Site

One of the major discoveries is a 29 ft tall duck-billed dinosaur. Other discoveries in the site include remains of the coelurus, ankylosaurus and T-Rex.

According to the researchers, these findings can help them understand why the dinosaurs became extinct. The dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. The cause of their death is still unknown. Digging records in the area started being kept in the 1960s.

Since then, the site has produced over 50 tons of dinosaur fossils. Many more may be unearthed. All these can go a long way towards an increased understanding of dinosaurs.

The search for the largest dinosaur fossil continues to this day. Diggings are being conducted everyday, so it may not be long before other large fossils are unearthed.