Scientists revealed the discovery of a new titanosaur species Wednesday, believed to be 73 million-years-old and weighing up to 15 tons.
Researchers working at the Lo Hueco site near Cuenca, Spain, identified the enormous beast from a single partial skeleton, according to the study published in the journal Communications Biology. Known as the Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra (Qunkasaur, or “Qunka” for short), it’s believed the incredible species was one the “last giants” to roam our planet before a cheeky little asteroid turned them all into chickens.
The beast is believed to have weighed roughly 15 tons and measured upwards of 65-feet in length, study author Francisco Ortega told Newsweek. (RELATED: Arizona Man Finds Hundreds Of Tracks On Property That Predate The Dinosaurs)
Qunka’s bones are amongst more than 12,000 fossils collected since 2007 throughout the Madrid-Levante high-speed train tracks, according to EurekAlert. “The study of this specimen allowed us to identify for the first time the presence of two distinct lineages of saltasauroids in the same fossil locality. One of these groups, called Lirainosaurinae, is relatively known in the Iberian region and is characterized by small and medium-sized species, which evolved in an island ecosystem,” lead author Pedro Mocho told the outlet.
En la presentación de #Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra en el @MuPaclm, nueva especie de #dinosaurio saurópodo procedente del yacimiento de #LoHueco (#Cuenca):
👉🏼 https://t.co/m2qKWek3ZN pic.twitter.com/Z9sLLHDID0
— Iván Narváez (@inarvaezp) September 4, 2024
F. Ortega, N. Bardet, F. Barroso-Barcenilla, P. M. Callapez, O. Cambra-Moo, V. Daviero-Gómez, V. Díez Díaz, L. Domingo, A. Elvira, F. Escaso, M. García-Oliva, B. Gómez, A. Houssaye, F. Knoll, F. Marcos-Fernández, M. Martín, P. Mocho, I. Narváez, A. Pérez-García, D. Peyrot, M. Segura, H. Serrano, A. Torices, D. Vidal & J. L. Sanz, CC BY 4.0
“In other words, Europe was a huge archipelago made up of several islands during the Late Cretaceous. However, Qunkasaura belongs to another group of sauropods, represented in the Iberian Peninsula by medium-large species 73 million years ago. This suggests to us that this lineage arrived in the Iberian Peninsula much later than other groups of dinosaurs,” he continued.
Qunka is one of the most complete fossilized dinosaurs ever found in Europe. Cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae and part of the pelvic girdle were found, as well as bits of its limbs. (RELATED: Paleontologists Unearth New Dinosaur Species With Unique Skills)
Part of the remains are already on display to the public at the Paleontological Museum of Castilla-La Mancha in Cuenca.
