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The fossil of a dinosaur that has been languishing in a museum for decades has been re-examined - and it turns out to be that of a new species.
Brachiosaurus, depicted in Jurassic Park, now has an early relative, providing clues to the evolution of some of the biggest creatures on Earth.
Scientists say the plant-eating dinosaur was longer than a double-decker bus and weighed 15,000kg.
Its remains were found in the 1930s in the Jura region of France.
Since then it has been somewhat over-looked, spending most of that time in storage crates in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Lead researcher Dr Philip Mannion of Imperial College London said the dinosaur would have eaten all kinds of vegetation, such as ferns and conifers, and lived at a time when Europe was a series of islands.
''We don't know what this creature died from, but millions of years later it is providing important evidence to help us understand in more detail the evolution of brachiosaurid sauropods and a much bigger group of dinosaurs that they belonged to, called titanosauriforms,'' he said.
Brachiosaurus, depicted in Jurassic Park, now has an early relative, providing clues to the evolution of some of the biggest creatures on Earth.
Scientists say the plant-eating dinosaur was longer than a double-decker bus and weighed 15,000kg.
Its remains were found in the 1930s in the Jura region of France.
Since then it has been somewhat over-looked, spending most of that time in storage crates in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Lead researcher Dr Philip Mannion of Imperial College London said the dinosaur would have eaten all kinds of vegetation, such as ferns and conifers, and lived at a time when Europe was a series of islands.
''We don't know what this creature died from, but millions of years later it is providing important evidence to help us understand in more detail the evolution of brachiosaurid sauropods and a much bigger group of dinosaurs that they belonged to, called titanosauriforms,'' he said.
Fossil sheds light on 'Jurassic Park' dinosaurs
A fossil kept in storage in a museum for decades turns out to that of a new species, say researchers.
www.bbc.com
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