Patagotitan

What it was like

Patagotitan was an enormous, long-necked plant eater and one of the largest known land animals. Its exact size is still debated among scientists, since estimates have changed as more of the skeleton has been studied, but it was built like other giant titanosaurs, with thick, pillar-like legs, a long neck, and an even longer tail.

Its skeleton includes reinforced joints in the back that probably helped support its enormous weight, a feature that made it stand out even among other giant titanosaurs. Like its relatives, it probably moved in a slow, steady way, spending much of its time feeding on plants from tall trees.

Its world

Patagotitan lived from about 113 to 101 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. Its only known fossils come from the Cerro Barcino Formation, where it lived on a forested floodplain.

It shared its world with the meat-eating Tyrannotitan and Genyodectes, as well as the smaller plant eater Chubutisaurus.

How it was found

Carballido and colleagues named Patagotitan in 2017, based on bones recovered from a single site in Argentina. Its closest relatives include Argentinosaurus and Dreadnoughtus, other giant titanosaurs from South America, and together they represent some of the largest animals ever known to have walked on Earth.