May 30, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

ÒTidal GiantÓ Ð new dinosaur found in Egypt

LONDON, May 30, Graphic News: The partial skeleton of a massive sauropod dinosaur has been unearthed at an Egyptian site that its discoverers call Òdinosaur heaven,Ó scientists said on Thursday.

ÒDubbed Paralititan Stromeri, the dinosaur is one of the largest ever discovered from the Cretaceous period -- about 146 to 65 million years ago -- in Africa, and may be the second most massive dinosaur ever found,Ó said Joshua B. Smith of the University of Pennsylvania

The discovery of Paralititan, whose name means ÒTidal Giant,Ó also marks the revival of EgyptÕs Bahariya Oasis as a paleontological treasure trove. Tidal Giant is the first dinosaur discovery reported from the site since 1935.

The research team, reporting in the international journal Science, hope that Paralititan and other discoveries at Bahariya will help answer some questions about a relatively mysterious time and place in vertebrate history. Scientists have found groups of vertebrates (animals with backbones) that were common to South America and Madagascar during the Late Cretaceous, but these same groups appear to be missing from Africa. Some paleontologists think this pattern exists because the South American and Malagasy land masses were somehow connected at the time, to the exclusion of Africa. 

ÒThe fact that there isnÕt a lot of information about Late Cretaceous vertebrates in Africa might be a function of the lack of people looking for them,Ó says Smith.

An analysis of ParalititanÕs skeletal features convinced the researchers that the fossil was a new species of titanosaurid, a group of long-necked, long-tailed, plant-eating dinosaurs that includes Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus -- the largest land animals ever. Paralititan certainly holds its own in the weight category. Its humerus, or upper arm bone, measures 1.69 metres (5.25 feet) in length, and is about 14 percent longer than the next largest Cretaceous sauropod humerus. Estimates of Tidal GiantÕs overall body size suggest that it may have been one of the heaviest terrestrial vertebrates yet discovered, with the largest specimens stretching 27 to 30.5 metres (90 to 100 feet) in length and weighing 68-90 tonnes (75-80 tons) -- more than the weight of 10 elephants. 

The overall geology of the site suggests that Bahariya may have once resembled the tropical mangrove coasts of Florida, a shallow water area of tidal flats and tidal channels, say the authors.

ParalititanÕs skeleton, which was preserved in fine-grained sediments full of plant remains, appears to have been scavenged by another dinosaur.

ÒThe skeleton was spread around in sort of an odd way, and the bones werenÕt separated at the bone sutures. In fact, the pelvis was ripped apart, just torn to bits,Ó says Smith. The researchers also uncovered the probable scavengerÕs calling card: a tooth possibly from Carcharodontosaurus -- ÒShark-tooth lizardÓ -- a primitive North African carnivorous dinosaur that was larger than T. Rex.

Along with Paralititan, the researchers uncovered other fossils from fish, crab, coelacanth, and crocodile-like species. Many of these fossils are giants in their own right, causing Smith and colleagues to speculate on the special nature of the Egyptian site.

ÒIt's really weird, because along with Paralititan and other big sauropods, we also have three carnivores in this system that are the size of T. Rex. The amount of biomass in this area had to be enormous to support all that. We may have stumbled on dinosaur heaven at Bahariya,Ó says Smith.
/ENDS
Source: Science

Graphic and story goes with photograph GN12479 -- Picture shows graduate Student Matthew Lamanna of the University of Pennsylvania excavating the left humerus of Paralititan. Must credit: Joshua B. Smith/University of Pennsylvania 

On the web: http://www.eurekalert.org/E-lert/current/public_releases/scipak/smith.html