Science

One of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered just landed in NYC

Rebecca Harrington
2016-01-14T20:49:00Z
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The American Museum of Natural History in New York has a new inhabitant: one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered. 

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Meet the titanosaur:

How did they get the 122-foot dino in the door? It wasn't easy. 

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The dino is so new it doesn't have an official species name yet.

amnh titanosaur
Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS

It's part of the titanosaurs group, giant herbivores that roamed the Earth 100 million years ago.

titanosaur amnh
The head of a skeleton cast of a titanosaur is seen extending out the door during a media preview at the American Museum of Natural History in New York January 14, 2016. The new, 122-foot (37-meter) dinosaur skeleton to be unveiled on Friday is too long to fit in the fossil hall and so its neck and head will poke out toward the elevator banks, offering a surprise greeting when the lift doors open. Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS
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Paleontologists unearthed the titanosaur from an Argentinian desert in 2014.

1. Excavation site_Dr. Alejandro Otero.JPG
Scientist for scale. AMNH

The scientists found 84 bones at the site. These are too heavy to display in the full skeleton at the museum, though.

12. Titanosaur forelimb_DF
AMNH
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For the display, replicas of the bones were 3D-printed out of fiberglass.

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AMNH

Scientists modeled any missing bones after the dinosaur's close relatives.

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AMNH
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It took six months to create the replica, and about a week to assemble it inside the exhibit.

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AMNH

Source: The New York Times

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This time-lapse video shows the entire installation process.

 

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Scientists estimate the dinosaur would have weighed 70 tons — 10 times more than a T-Rex.

titanosaur amnh
Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS

Its shoulder is about 20 feet high.

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AMNH
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The titanosaur's neck alone is 39 feet long.

titanosaur amnh
Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS

It's too big to fit in the room. The titanosaur's head pokes out of the exhibit, greeting visitors when they get off the elevator.

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AMNH
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Visitors can see the real bones at the exhibit, too. The dinosaur's thigh bone, shown here, is 8 feet long.

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AMNH

The exhibit opens to the public on January 15.

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AMNH

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