Near a murky river that cuts through what’s now southeastern Utah, a dinosaur longer than two school buses checks out its surroundings. The 40,000-pound creature is watching for predators, ready to use its strong, whiplike tail to defend itself. Once it feels safe, the prehistoric plant-eater lumbers toward nearby bushes for a snack.
Some 150 million years later, paleontologists dug up part of this dino, a new sauropod species that’s yet to be named. (Sauropods are long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs.) “Discovering a dinosaur is only the first step in a long journey,” paleontologist Luis Chiappe says. “Getting its bones from a dig site to a museum where more people can learn about the animal takes a lot of time and effort.”
Keep reading to discover how scientists assembled the massive skeleton of this…
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National Geographic Kids (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2024