Archeologists Rethinking Triassic Period Because of Massive Dinosaur Bones

A team of excavators in Argentina now believes that giant dinosaurs lived on Earth much earlier than previously thought, based on the discovery of the remains of a 200-million-year old species. The species, baptized Ingenia prima, was about three times the size of the largest Triassic dinosaurs from its era, reports AFP, and was discovered in the Balde de Leyes dig site in the San Juan province. The find was published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. 

“As soon as we found it, we realized it was something different. We found a shape, the first giant one among all the dinosaurs. That’s the surprise,” said Cecilia Apaldetti, a government and San Juan University researcher, according to AFP. 

It had previously been thought that gigantism developed during the Jurassic period, around 180 million years ago. The bones discovered by the team displayed cyclical and seasonal growth, and it is believed that the species grew to 26-33 feet tall and weighed equal to two or three African elephants.