Heavyweight Dino of the World

摘要

After four years of excavation and five years of study, Dreadnoughtus schrani debuted in September as a top contender for the largest land animal ever: 65 tons and 85 feet long, with a 37-foot neck and muscle-bound 30-foot tail. Paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara first spotted just a small patch of exposed bone one morning in February 2005 in Argentine Patagonia. Lacovara and fellow Drexel University researchers quickly returned, and by nightfall they had uncovered a 6-foot-long femur. "We knew immediately that we were looking at one of the largest known dinosaurs," says Lacovara.