Ingentia prima (In-gen-tea-ah pre-ma) - One of the first, really big dinosaurs to evolve. This herbivorous dinosaur roamed northwestern Argentina in the Late Triassic. Measuring around 10 metres in length and estimated to have weighed 10 tonnes Ingentia demonstrates that the first giant dinosaurs evolved some 35 million years earlier than previously thought. It was named and scientifically described in 2018. Its fossilised remains revealed that these animals grew rapidly and that they possessed an extremely efficient bird-like respiratory system. Although Ingentia bones demonstrate several adaptations to gigantism, it still lacks many of the anatomical features associated with the distantly related Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. For example, its legs were more bent and not the huge, weight-bearing columns associated with the later Jurassic sauropods.
Size:24.5cm x 7cm
Period:Triassic
Meaning:First huge one
