New titanosaur skeletons unearthed

[Guy Leahy <xrciseguy@sbcglobal.net>]

Italians report major dinosaur discovery
LERICI, Italy, May 2 (UPI) -- Italian scientists
report discovering Titanosaurus bones that might
change the accepted scientific picture of the
dinosaur.

"The morphology of the Titanosaurus could well have to
be re-assessed after we're through looking at these
four extremely well-preserved skeletons," said Beppe
Mecconi, chief of the Natural History Museum at
Lerici, near Genoa.

Knowledge of the growth, lifestyle and eating habits
of the 80-million-year-old herbivore could also be
boosted, Meocci told the Italian news agency ANSA.

The Titanosaurus was a shy, but enormous, dinosaur
that had a long neck, a long tail, and a small head.
It had a heavy body with bony armor on its back.

The giant herbivores, which grew to nearly 200 feet in
length, lived during the late Cretaceous period about
65 to 83 million years ago. Researchers told ANSA the
Titanosaurus was one of the largest animals ever to
live on Earth.

Although not as long as some of its cousins, the
dinosaur was bulky and weighed in at an estimated
30,000 pounds.

ANSA noted fans of Godzilla films know the name
Titanosaurus as an ally of the latest 'Supergodzilla'.
The two monsters team up to destroy Japan.