A giant, long-necked dinosaur that once roamed what is now Thailand has been identified as a brand-new species, rewriting what scientists know about prehistoric life in Southeast Asia.
Named Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, this enormous plant-eater is the largest dinosaur ever discovered in the region. Researchers estimate it weighed around 27 metric tonnes, roughly the same as nine adult Asian elephants, and stretched an incredible 27 metres (about 89 feet) from head to tail. To put that into perspective, the dinosaur was more than twice the size of a typical Tyrannosaurus rex.
The study describing the new species was published in Scientific Reports and led by researchers from University College London and several Thai institutions.