Five-tonne dinosaur discovered in Portugal Scientists have found the fossilised remains of the largest European terrestrial predator in Portugal, reported the Guardian. The new species of dinosaur, which lived about 150 million years ago, has been named Torvosaurus gurneyi. It was up to 10 metres (33 feet) long and weighed between four and five tonnes. The fossilised bones were found north of Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, and were originally believed to be those of a North American species called Torvosaurus tanneri. However, comparisons of the shin bone, upper jawbone, teeth and tail vertebrae suggest the Portuguese bones are from a different species altogether. The size and shape of the dinosaurs’ mouths appear to be one of the main differences between the European and American species. Also the American Torvosaurus has more teeth than the European variety. One of the paper’s co-authors, Christophe Hendrickx, said: This is not the largest predatory dinosaur we know. Tyrannosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Giganotosaurus from the Cretaceous were bigger animals. With a skull of 115cm, Torvosaurus gurneyi was however one of the largest terrestrial carnivores at this epoch, and an active predator that hunted other large dinosaurs, as evidenced by blade-shape teeth up to 10cm.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 14:20:40 +0000
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