The idea of a farmer or a nomadic fossil hunter discovering massive bones at the edge of a pond in northeastern Thailand has a subtle cinematic quality. That is essentially what happened in Chaiyaphum province ten years ago, and it has taken until now for the world to discover the true nature of those bones. They belonged to a previously unidentified sauropod known as Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, according to the explanation, which was revealed this month. Twenty-seven tons. 27 meters in length. One of the most unexpected paleontological discoveries of the decade, it was the largest dinosaur ever discovered in Southeast Asia.
A lot of work is being done by the name itself. For centuries, Naga, the serpent of Southeast Asian folklore, was a recurring theme in Thai and Khmer narratives. Titan, pulled from Greek mythology. Chaiyaphumensis, which translates to “from Chaiyaphum.” It’s the kind of three-language hybrid that only occurs when researchers from various continents are attempting to simultaneously acknowledge each other.
The National Geographic Society provided funding for the excavation, and a team from University College London collaborated with Mahasarakham University, Suranaree University of Technology, and the Sirindhorn Museum. These bones have been with the lead author, Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a PhD candidate from Thailand, for many years. Reading his quotes gives you the impression that he is somewhat protective of them.
He refers to Nagatitan as the “last titan” of Thailand, but he doesn’t fully explain the poetic significance of that statement. The fossils were extracted from the nation’s youngest dinosaur-bearing rock formation. Anything more recent in those layers is not from land animals, but rather from a shallow sea that has vanished. Thus, it’s possible that this creature, which lumbered through what is now Chaiyaphum between 100 and 120 million years ago, is the most recent giant sauropod the area has ever produced. The claim is valid for the time being, but it’s unclear if it will hold up over the next few decades of fieldwork.
Comparing the animal to something you already know can help you visualize it. A Tyrannosaurus rex could reach a maximum weight of six tonnes and a maximum length of twelve meters. Nagatitan was more than twice as long and about four times heavier. Strangely, though, it isn’t even close to the heavyweight title by sauropod standards. Argentinosaurus weighs maybe ninety tons, while Patagotitan weighs about sixty. According to Sethapanichsakul, those South American monsters “still dwarfed” his discovery. That admission has a charming quality; scientists seldom understate their discoveries.
Since the discovery of Siamosaurus suteethorni in 1986, Thailand has been subtly establishing a reputation as a dinosaur nation for almost forty years. Fourteen named species are included in the national count with Nagatitan. That indicates a fossil record that is still primarily underground, even though it isn’t a significant number when compared to Argentina or the American West. This time, a number of vertebrae, ribs, portions of the pelvis, and two leg bones—one measuring an astounding 1.78 meters—were found. These bones are sufficient to build a species around, but they are insufficient to provide all the answers. What specifically did this animal eat? How did it move? Why could such enormity flourish here in the Early Cretaceous climate?
It’s difficult to ignore how much influence a single creature can still have in our minds as we watch the announcement spread through media outlets like the BBC, NPR, and Al Jazeera. A stone pile next to a pond. Ten years of patient labor. And now a new titan has been given a name somewhere between science and mythology.