Palaeontology

Huge new species of dinosaur discovered in South-East Asia

By T.K. Randall
May 16, 2026

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Known as Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis - this huge creature was the largest ever found in South-East Asia and belonged to a group of "gentle giant" long-necked herbivore dinosaurs known as sauropods.

It weighed in at an incredible 27 tons - about equivalent to nine adult elephants.

It also measured 27 meters in length.

The discovery was made, not through excavation, but through an analysis of previously unearthed fossils that had been originally found in north-eastern Thailand around a decade ago.It roamed the Earth between 100 and 120 million years ago.

The species was also noteworthy due to the fact that, not long after it disappeared, the region became inundated with water, making it one of the last giant dinosaurs to live there.

"Younger rocks laid down towards the end of the time of the dinosaurs are unlikely to contain dinosaur remains because the region by then had become a shallow sea," said lead study author Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul of University College London (UCL).

"So this may be the last or most recent large sauropod we will find in South-East Asia."

Source: BBC News

Tags: Dinosaur