ATbditosaurus kuehnei. This scientific name is added to the long list of dinosaurs listed by Man, often supplemented by names that are difficult to remember. The authentication of this herbivorous dinosaur represents yet another giant step in the archaeological field, as shared by France 3 Occitanie, Saturday February 12, relaying the study of the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. This new species of titanosaur has been discovered in the southern Spanish Pyrenees. On the Orcau-1 excavation site, an international team of archaeologists has reconstructed an entire fossilized skeleton dating back 70 million years. It was named Abditosaurus kuehnei, “Abditosaurus” meaning “forgotten reptile” (from the Latin “Abditus” for “forgotten” and the Greek “sauros” for lizard) and “kuehnei” being a tribute to the German paleontologist Walter Kühne, which had revealed the first remains of the fossil in 1954.
The dinosaur is among the largest and heaviest creatures that have ever existed on the blue planet. Its stature, a length of 17 meters and a weight rivaling the 14 tons according to estimates, impresses the researchers. “The titanosaurs usually found in the Upper Cretaceous of Europe tend to be small or medium-sized because they evolved in island conditions,” paleontologist Bernat Vila said in his report published by the journal Nature Ecology. & Evolution.
The skeleton of Abditosaurus kuehnei is the most complete titanosaur fossil discovered so far in Europe. This herbivorous dinosaur was about 18 meters in length and weighted 14 tons. pic.twitter.com/nnpekvbcKF
— Català Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont (@ICP_MCrusafont) February 7, 2022
A European pride, but a dinosaur foreign to the continent
By its gigantic size, the Abditosaurus kuehnei is not only the largest known dinosaur in southern Europe. The 53 pieces found, such as ribs and cervical vertebrae, make him the semi-articulated skeleton of this group of herbivorous dinosaurs, the most complete found on the Old Continent. Scientists speculate that the imposing animal belongs to a family of titanosaurs from South America and Africa. 83 and 66 million years ago, in the middle of the Upper Cretaceous era, it would have found itself in the Pyrenees following migrations between the European archipelago and the Gondwana continent. The theory put forward by the scientific community is that the global drop in the level of the oceans served to move the Abditosaurus.
