| Ingentia | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Ingentia prima | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Family: | †Lessemsauridae Apaldetti et al., 2018 |
| Genus: | †Ingentia |
| Type species | |
| †Ingentia prima Apaldetti, 2018 | |
| Referred species | |
| |
Ingentia (meaning : "the first giant") is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur. Described in July 2018, it has completely changed palaeontologists' understanding of when gigantism in dinosaurs first evolved. Before the discovery of this genus, it was believed that this huge species of prosauropod dinosaurs have evolved in the early to the late Triassic.
Description
The type species Ingetia prima; named by Apaldetti in 2018, and translates to "the first to be huge" in Latin language. Ingentia estimated to grew up as much as nine tonnes in weight, making it the largest, known, prosauropod ever and the biggest dinosaur in the entire Triassic period three times bigger than the previous largest genus. Length estimates are between 26-33 feet (7.9 to 10 meters). The animal had a herbivorous diet like all known species of the sauropodomorpha; and it was presumably able to stand between its hind legs for a short period of time similiar to its cousin species, Plateosaurus.
Full Body view of the Large animal
Ingentia prima lived during the late Triassic, from about 205 million to 210 million years ago, in what is now Argentina. Note its avian-like respiratory system that has cervical air sacs (green) and its lungs (brown)