'Gigantic' 122-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Discovery Is Among Largest Found

A previously unknown "giant" dinosaur that lived 122 million years ago has been identified by researchers.

In a study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, a team of paleontologists described the new dinosaur species, which they have named Garumbatitan morellensis.

The researchers described the dinosaur from remains discovered in Morella, a municipality located in the autonomous region of Valencia in eastern Spain.

The new dinosaur belongs to the iconic sauropod group that includes the largest land-dwelling animals ever to walk the Earth. These quadrupedal dinosaurs, which could grow to colossal sizes, are characterized by their very long necks, long tails, small heads and thick legs.

The remains of Garumbatitan morellensis were first excavated in Morella at the Sant Antoni de la Vespa fossil site in 2005 and 2008. This deposit contains one of the largest concentrations of sauropod dinosaur remains in Europe from the Early (or Lower) Cretaceous period (around 145-100 million years ago).

The first part of the dinosaur's name, Garumbatitan, means the "giant of Garumba"—a nod to the fact that this specimen was found at the base of the Mola de la Garumba, one of the highest reliefs in the region. The second part of the name references the location where the fossil deposit is located, Morella.

The description of the new species is based on the remains of at least three "fantastic specimens" that were found at the site, Pedro Mocho, who led the study, said in a post on X.

One of the specimens stands out for its large size, featuring vertebrae that measure more than 3 feet wide, and a femur (the upper bone of the leg) that could reach over six feet in length, according to Mocho.

The researchers also found two almost complete and articulated feet, which is "particularly rare" in the geological record, Mocho, a paleontologist at the University of Lisbon in Portugal, said in a press release.

The researchers told Spanish media outlet El Mundo that the dinosaur could have reached more than 80 feet in length and stood over 30 feet tall when it was alive.

It was likely one of the "most gigantic" dinosaurs on record, paleontologists and study authors José Miguel Gasulla and Francisco Ortega from Spain's National University of Distance Education, told Spanish newspaper El País. It was so large that it may have been capable of consuming roughly 65-90 pounds of vegetation every day, the researchers said.

"Garumbatitan is one of the largest sauropods found in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe," Mocho told Newsweek.

The latest study formally describes the newly identified species for the first time, highlighting a set of anatomical characteristics that differentiate this dinosaur from other sauropods—such as the unique form of the femur and the elements that make up the foot.

The study also found that Garumbatitan is one of the most primitive members of a group of sauropods called Somphospondyli.

"This new sauropod is one of the best-preserved sauropods found in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe, which provides us key information about the evolutionary history of the group in this geographic domain," Mocho told Newsweek. "Its study reveals that in the Iberian Peninsula lived early members of a sauropod group called Somphospondyli, which were the only sauropod group present at the end of the Cretaceous, before the mass extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs."

"Our study highlights the enormous complexity of the evolutionary history of sauropods from the European Cretaceous," Mocho said in the press release.

"The future restoration of all fossil materials found in this deposit will add important information to understand the initial evolution of this group of sauropods," Ortega said in the press release.

Update 10/04/23, 4:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comments from Pedro Mocho.