12m long monster appears in the middle of 'vampire land'

A previously unknown beast has been unearthed in the famous Transylvania region of Romania.

Transylvania is famous for more than just vampire legends. Tens of millions of years ago, Transylvania's Hațeg Basin was once an island in the Tethys superocean, home to giant beasts.

A research team led by Dr. Verónica Díez Díaz from the Natural History Museum of the Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research (Germany) found here the fossil of a new species of titanosaurus.

The Beast of Transylvania was one of the largest titanosaurs to ever exist in ancient Europe - Photo: ABelov

According to Sci-News, the newly excavated beast in the "vampire territory" is named Uriash kadici, a new species of the Lithostrotia family, a group of titanosaurs.

Titanosaurs are the largest lineage of the Sauropoda family, with bodies that can be tens of meters long, weigh tens of tons, and are the largest land creatures of all time.

They are docile herbivores with very long necks, long, thick tails, four pillar-like legs, and heavy bodies.

However, the Beast of Transylvania was relatively small compared to other titanosaurs: 12 meters long and weighing around 5-8 tons when alive. Even so, it was still much larger than the average elephant.

Uriash kadici is second in size to any titanosaur ever found in Europe, surpassed only by Abditosaurus (estimated to weigh 14 tonnes and be 17.5 m long).

The largest titanosaurs - weighing 60-70 tons - are typically found in the Americas, most commonly in Argentina.

But what's special about the Transylvania monster is that it breaks the so-called "island rule" in the world of creatures. Hațeg is a humble island, so the creatures that live there should be smaller than their mainland counterparts.

According to the article published in the scientific journal Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, the new monster also has deep roots in the southern supercontinent Gondwana, which later broke up into Oceania, Antarctica, South America and the Indian subcontinent today.

It is estimated to have lived about 70 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, which was also the golden age of dinosaurs.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/sieu-quai-thu-dai-12-m-xuat-hien-giua-vung-dat-ma-ca-rong-172250227073821398.htm