An international research team is uncovering the remains of what could be the largest dinosaur ever found in Europe, after a Portuguese man began noticing fossilized bones in his backyard years ago. The fossil, found in central Portugal, is believed to be a brachiosaurus sauropod dinosaur that would have been 39 feet tall and about 82 feet long, according to the University of Lisbon. Portuguese and Spanish researchers unearth the skeleton of an 82-foot-long dinosaur that a man found in his backyard. (Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, Portugal) “It is not common to find all the ribs of an animal like this, let alone in this position, preserving their original anatomical position,” Elisabete Malafaia, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, said this week. “This mode of preservation is relatively unusual in dinosaur fossils, particularly sauropods, from the Portuguese Upper Jurassic.” SCIENTISTS FIND NEW ASTEROID CRATER THAT MAY SHED LIGHT ON DINOSAUR EXTINCTION Sauropods, iconic herbivorous dinosaurs known for their long necks and tails, lived from 160 to 100 million years ago. A man in Pombal, Portugal, first noticed bone fragments on his property in 2017 while doing construction. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In recent weeks, Portuguese and Spanish researchers have discovered vertebrates and sauropod ribs in man’s backyard. Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.
