Largest Ever?

Every so often, the nerd in me has to post something historical... but this is truly amazing. Plus, I want to give Duke Energy a few props. The picture is a preliminary sketch of what they believe the new species may have looked like...

The skeleton of what is believed to be a new dinosaur species - a 105-foot plant-eater that is among the largest dinosaurs ever found - has been uncovered in Argentina. Scientists from Argentina and Brazil said the Patagonian dinosaur appears to represent a previously unknown species of Titanosaur because of the unique structure of its neck. They named it Futalognkosaurus dukei after the Mapuche Indian words for "giant" and "chief," and for Duke Energy Argentina, which helped fund the skeleton's excavation.

The article continues to compare the discoveries in North and South America... "North America's dinosaurs don't even compare", Mackovicky (scientist) added in a phone interview. "Dinosaurs do get big here, but nothing near the proportions we see in South America." The site where Futalognkosaurus was found has been a bonanza for paleontologists, yielding more than 1,000 specimens, including 240 fossil plants, 300 teeth and the remains of several other dinosaurs."As far as I know, there is no other place in the world where there is such a large and diverse quantity of fossils in such small area. That is truly unique."

This whole theory, of course, plays into scientists previous theory that the "Ice Age" or climate change theory... parts of Argentina are very close the equator and was probably warmer or at least dryer, which were optimal temperatures for their growth. As a point of comparison, scientists (or just wikipedia) believes that the average mature T-Rex was only 42 feet - this new species is over twice the size.

http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/truly-gigantic-dinosaur-skeleton-found/20071015150109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001