Giant New Dinosaur Species Discovered in Thailand
Al Jazeera English
A giant new dinosaur species, weighing as much as nine adult elephants, has been identified in Thailand. It is the largest dinosaur ever found in Southeast Asia.
Scientists have announced the discovery of a gigantic new dinosaur species in Thailand, with an estimated weight equivalent to nine adult elephants. The new species, named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, belongs to the sauropod group—famous for their long necks, long tails, small heads, and pillar-like legs.
The study, published on January 30 in the journal Scientific Reports, states that this herbivorous dinosaur was 27 meters (89 feet) long and weighed around 27 tons. It is the largest dinosaur ever found in Southeast Asia, living between 100 and 120 million years ago.
Although the fossils lacked the head and teeth, scientists inferred its diet based on other sauropods. Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a PhD candidate in paleontology at University College London (UCL) and lead author of the study, said: "Nagatitan was likely a 'bulk-feeding' herbivore, focused on consuming large volumes of low- or no-chew plants such as conifers and possibly seed ferns."
Sethapanichsakul added: "Our dinosaur is very large by most people’s standards. It was at least 10 tons heavier than Dippy the Diplodocus"—referring to the giant mounted skeleton once displayed at the Natural History Museum in London.
The researchers call Nagatitan the "last giant" because it was excavated from one of the youngest rock layers containing dinosaur fossils in Thailand. Southeast Asia gradually became a shallow sea during the Cretaceous period, meaning no further sauropods lived there.
Nagatitan belongs to a sauropod subgroup that appeared about 140 million years ago. Around 90 million years ago, they became the only surviving sauropods globally, thriving until the end of the dinosaur era 66 million years ago due to an asteroid impact.
Local residents discovered the first fragments of this giant creature a decade ago in northeastern Thailand, but excavation was only completed in 2024. The bone fragments showed some similarities to known sauropods but had enough distinct features to be considered a new species.
The name Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis derives from Naga, a snake-like creature in some Asian religious traditions, often appearing in Thai temples. To date, Thailand has a total of 14 named dinosaur species. A life-size reconstruction of Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis is now displayed at the Thainosaur Museum in Bangkok.
