Researchers in Thailand have uncovered a previously unknown dinosaur species after fossilized remains discovered near a pond in the country’s northeast were studied and analyzed.
Scientists believe the reptile is the largest dinosaur ever identified in Southeast Asia.
The newly named dinosaur, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, was a giant herbivore distinguished by its elongated neck and tail.
Findings published in Scientific Reports estimate the creature measured roughly 27 meters (89 feet) long and weighed close to 27 metric tons, or nearly 60,000 pounds.
Scientists classified the dinosaur as part of the sauropod family, a group of massive plant-eating dinosaurs that includes famous species such as Diplodocus and Brontosaurus. According to researchers, the animal’s humerus — the upper front leg bone — measured nearly 1.8 meters (around six feet) in length.
“We don’t have a lot of specimens that are of that scale in Thailand,” lead study author and paleontologist Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a PhD student at University College London, told CNN.
“When I first laid eyes on the humerus, it was taller than me, and that was quite surprising,” he said, adding that the dinosaur is roughly twice the size of another known sauropod species found in Thailand.
The first fossils were uncovered in 2016 by a local villager after water levels in a community pond receded during the dry season. Excavation teams working between 2016 and 2019 recovered more skeletal remains, while additional research at the site continued in 2024.
Experts from University College London, Thailand’s Department of Mineral Resources, Mahasarakham University, and Suranaree University of Technology conducted 3D scans on bones from the pelvis, ribs, spine, and limbs. Their analysis confirmed the fossils belonged to an entirely new species.
The dinosaur’s name draws inspiration from mythology and local geography. “Naga” references a serpent-like being found in South and Southeast Asian folklore, while “Titan” comes from the giants of Greek mythology. The term “chaiyaphumensis” honors Chaiyaphum province in Thailand, where the remains were discovered.
“The Nagas are also often associated with water, and considering the dinosaur was found on the side of a communal pond, it just seemed very apt to have a serpent giant be the name,” Sethapanichsakul said.
“It fulfills a kind of childhood promise,” he added. “That, yeah, I’m going to name a dinosaur one day. And I want it to be from Thailand.”
Researchers believe the dinosaur roamed the region between 120 million and 100 million years ago during the late Early Cretaceous period. It likely lived alongside smaller herbivorous dinosaurs related to Iguanodon as well as early relatives of Triceratops.
At the time, the area is believed to have had a hot, arid climate with river systems that supported aquatic life including freshwater fish, sharks, turtles, and crocodiles.
Sethapanichsakul noted that Thailand could possess “some of the highest diversity” of dinosaur fossils in Asia because of its vast deposits of exposed sedimentary rock dating back to the Mesozoic Era.
“These rocks are exposed to less rain and vegetation, which could end up eroding or destroying those bones,” he added.
A research facility has since been established near the fossil site, while a full-scale reconstruction of Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis is currently exhibited at the Thainosaur Museum in Bangkok.
