Biggest dinosaur ever stomps into London
Skeleton of the largest land animal ever will replace the diplodocus in capital’s Natural History Museum
A dinosaur four times heavier than Dippy the diplodocus and a third longer than Hope the blue whale is going on display at the Natural History Museum. The Patagotitan mayorum, also known as the “titanosaur”, will replace the diplodocus next spring in the Waterhouse Gallery, the only space large enough. But despite being the biggest land animal of all time, it seems the creature was not immune to predators as it has a huge bite taken out of its tail.
DIPPY was the dinosaur whose monstrous frame greeted Natural History Museum visitors for years.
But now Dippy is being sidelined by a creature four times as big – and almost 50 per cent longer than the museum’s other giant, Hope the blue whale.
The Patagotitan mayorum, also known as the “titanosaur”, will replace the diplodocus in the Waterhouse Gallery next spring, the only space large enough to house the specimen.
But despite being the biggest land animal of all time, it seems the creature was not immune to predators as it has a huge bite out of its tail.
The dinosaur believed to be responsible for the gash in Patagotitan’s tail is the Tyrannotitan, a replica skull of which will be also be on display in the hall.
Prof Paul Barrett, a dinosaur expert and the museum’s science lead on the exhibition, said: “One of the tail vertebrae has a long straight gouge along its surface that is likely to have been caused by a large predatory dinosaur taking a bite.
“We don’t know if the animal was alive or not when its tail was bitten. There are large meat-eating dinosaurs from the same time and place as Patagotitan and it’s likely that one of these, possibly the T-rex-sized Tyrannotitan, was the culprit.”
Weighing in at 57 tons, and 115ft long, the species is believed to be approaching the upper limit of how big walking animals can get, and was named “the titanosaur” after its initial discovery before its formal naming in 2017.
Patagotitan lived in what is now Argentina around 101 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.
The biggest dinosaurs have all been found in the same area, around the same time, leading experts to believe that some climate, or food advantage, allowed them to evolve to such extraordinary proportions.
The specimen weighs as much as more than nine African elephants and is nearly 40ft longer than Hope the blue whale, which replaced Dippy in the museum’s Hintze Hall in 2017.
It is the first time the species has been displayed in Europe. Dippy in comparison is around 85ft long and weighed between 11 and 15 tons. Like Dippy, it is a cast of the original.
Prof Barrett added: “As the skeleton is so large, being able to get the cases through the doors and having enough room to work around it are likely to prove a challenge.
“However, thanks to Dippy’s national tour around the UK, our team now has lots of practice in assembling large dinosaur skeletons.”
Patagotitan was a herbivore which walked on all fours, with a huge barrel shaped body, a long neck for reaching for leaves at the tops of trees and a very long tail for balance.
The full-sized replica dinosaur is based on the original fossils first discovered by a farm worker, Aurelio Hernández, in 2010 on La Fletcha ranch, in Chubut Province, Patagonia, which is owned by the Mayo family.
Over a series of several digs in 2012, 2013 and 2015 a team from the Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, recovered numerous bones from six different skeletons.
The scientific name, Patagotitan mayorum, derives from the region where this new species was discovered, Argentina’s Patagonia (Patago); by its strength and large size (titan), and by the Mayo family name.
Visitors will be able to walk beneath the titanosaur.
Dr Alex Burch, director of public programmes at the museum, said: “We are so excited that Patagotitan, the most complete giant dinosaur ever discovered, is making its European debut here at the Natural History Museum, the home of the dinosaur.
“Our fascination with dinosaurs provides the ideal opportunity to inspire and inform the next generation about the natural world, and empower them to act for the planet.”
The exhibition will run from March 31 next year until Jan 7 2024.