UMVA has learned that a colossal new dinosaur has been unearthed in the forests of northeastern Thailand, a discovery that could redefine the region’s prehistoric skyline.
The towering beast, a long‑necked herbivore, stretched an astonishing 27 metres from snout to tail and tipped the scales at about 27 tonnes—roughly the mass of nine adult elephants. Such a magnitude marks it as the largest dinosaur ever documented in Southeast Asia.
Scientists trace the creature’s existence back to a period between 100 and 120 million years ago, a time when ancient climates were reshaping the world and setting the stage for these gigantic reptiles to flourish.
Its formal name, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, weaves myth into science: “naga” evokes the serpent spirits of local folklore, “titan” nods to the mighty gods of Greek legend, and “chaiyaphumensis” anchors the species to the province where its bones were found.
Lead researcher Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul compared the dinosaur’s bulk to that of the famed Diplodocus, declaring it at least ten tonnes heavier than its celebrated cousin and dubbing it the “last titan” of its era.
Because the fossils emerged from one of the youngest rock layers in Thailand, the discovery may represent the final chapter of large sauropods in the region before a shallow sea swallowed their world.
The species belongs to a lineage that first appeared around 140 million years ago and became the sole surviving sauropods until the great asteroid strike that ended the age of dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Although locals first spotted the bones a decade ago, the painstaking excavation reached completion in 2024, revealing a skeleton that blends familiar sauropod traits with distinctive features warranting a brand‑new species.
A life‑size reconstruction now stands proudly in Bangkok’s Thainosaur Museum, inviting visitors to witness the awe‑inspiring scale of this ancient titan.
