‘Maip macrothorax’: Largest raptor dinosaur’s remains found by paleontologists   

The remains of the largest dinosaur ever recorded belonging to the raptor family, have been found in Patagonia. The discovery was made by a team of Argentine paleontologists, as per media reports.  

The dinosaur, who belonged to a new species named ‘Maip macrothorax’, was around nine to 10 meters long. The other dinos of "megaraptors" species were not longer than nine meters, said Mauro Aranciaga Rolando, scientist, who participated in the discovery.  

"This animal is very large in size and we were able to recover a lot of remains," Aranciaga Rolando told Reuters on Wednesday.  

Also Read: Fossils of marine creatures living over 66 million years ago found in footpath outside Thailand mall 

The fossils, which were found in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, have been kept at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Argentine Museum in Buenos Aires.  

The fossils were discovered in March 2019, said the National Scientific and Technical Research Council.  

In this expedition, two Japanese scientists also participated.  

Watch: Is there intelligent life out there?

The fossils were distributed among paleontologists and analysed at home due to the pandemic.  

Around 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, the dinosaur seems to have inhabited the southern tip of Argentina.  

Megaraptors had an agile skeleton, a long tail, a long neck and an elongated skull with over 60 small teeth, said Aranciaga Rolando, who said the sharp-ended limbs of "Maip" were his most dangerous weapon.   

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

(With inputs from agencies)