Thailand Unveils Cricket-Pitch-Long Dinosaur with a Neck Like No Other!

A team of scientists in Thailand has discovered a new species of dinosaur, which they have named Uragasaurus kalasinensis. This dinosaur lived around 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period. It was a plant-eater and had a very long neck, measuring up to 20 meters in length, which is about the same as a cricket pitch. The discovery was made in Kalasin Province, located in the north-east of Thailand.

The story began in 2008 when a local man found some fossil fragments that looked like serpent scales. This led scientists to investigate the area, which is called Phu Noi. They found a large number of fossils there, and more than 90 percent of them were from dinosaurs. Among the fossils, they found teeth and bones from different dinosaurs. The most important find was a dorsal vertebra, which is a bone from the middle or upper back of the dinosaur. This bone had special features that made the scientists think it was from a new species.

To learn more, the scientists used a CT scan to look inside the bone. The scan showed that the dinosaur belonged to the Mamenchisauridae family, a group of sauropod dinosaurs known for their extremely long necks. These long necks helped them reach leaves and plants at different heights. Most dinosaurs from this family have been found in China, so finding one in Thailand is very special. The bone also had a unique Y-shaped structure and an air-cavity that was different from any other dinosaur.

Dr Apirut Nilpanapan from Mahasarakham University led the study. He said he was both excited and relieved when he realized they had found a new species. He was so surprised that he accidentally broke his computer. The findings were published in the scientific journal Nature.

Earlier this year, scientists found another long-necked dinosaur in Thailand called nagatitan. The nagatitan is the largest dinosaur ever found in South-East Asia. It was 27 meters long and weighed as much as nine adult Asian elephants. Both Uragasaurus and nagatitan were plant-eaters with long necks. These discoveries show that Thailand was once home to some of the biggest dinosaurs in the world. People can see models and pictures of these dinosaurs in museums, which helps everyone learn more about the amazing animals that lived millions of years ago.