Thailand dig identifies new giant dinosaur species

May 15, 2026

Summary

Researchers said a newly identified sauropod from Thailand is the largest known dinosaur found in Southeast Asia.

Why this matters

The find adds to the fossil record in Southeast Asia and offers new evidence about the size, diversity, and timeline of sauropods in the region. It also highlights Thailand’s growing importance in dinosaur research.

Scientists identified a new species of dinosaur in Thailand that researchers said was the largest known dinosaur from Southeast Asia.

The species, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, was described Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. It belonged to the sauropods, a group known for long necks and tails, small heads, and four columnar legs.

Researchers estimated the herbivore measured about 27 meters, or 89 feet, and weighed about 27 tonnes, roughly as much as nine adult elephants. They said it likely lived in what is now Thailand between 100 million and 120 million years ago.

Its head and teeth were not among the fossils recovered, but researchers inferred its diet from other sauropods.

“Nagatitan was probably a bulk browser that focused on consuming high volumes of vegetation that required little to no chewing such as conifers and possibly seed ferns,” said Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, a University College London Ph.D. student in paleontology and lead author of the research.

Sethapanichsakul said the newly identified sauropod was “the last titan” because it was unearthed in one of the youngest rock formations in Thailand known to contain dinosaur fossils. He said the name also fit because Southeast Asia became a shallow sea during the Cretaceous period, after which no more sauropods lived there.

Researchers said Nagatitans belonged to a subgroup of sauropods that originated about 140 million years ago. By about 90 million years ago, that group was the only sauropods left worldwide and survived until the age of dinosaurs ended 66 million years ago with an asteroid impact.

Locals in northeast Thailand first unearthed remains of the animal about a decade ago, but excavation was not completed until 2024, according to the study. Researchers said the fossils partly resembled previously discovered sauropods but had enough distinct features to classify the animal as a new species.

The name Nagatitan refers to Naga, a serpent-like being in some Asian religious traditions that is prominently depicted in Thai temples. Thailand has 14 named dinosaur species. A life-size reconstruction of Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis is on display at Bangkok’s Thainosaur Museum.

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Thailand dig identifies new giant dinosaur species

Scientists identified a new species of dinosaur in Thailand that researchers said was the largest known dinosaur from Southeast Asia. The species, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, was described Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. It belonged to the sauropods, a group known for long necks and tails, small heads, and four columnar legs. Researchers estimated the herbivore…

Full story +

Scientists identified a new species of dinosaur in Thailand that researchers said was the largest known dinosaur from Southeast Asia.

The species, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, was described Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. It belonged to the sauropods, a group known for long necks and tails, small heads, and four columnar legs.

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