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Largest dinosaur to walk the Earth to go on display at Australian Museum

Patagotitan mayorum cast and original thigh bone to headline Sydney institution's bicentenary summer

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Sources3 outlets
The Australian Museum will display a cast of Patagotitan mayorum, considered the largest dinosaur to have walked the Earth, in Sydney this summer as part of its 200th anniversary celebrations. At almost 38 metres long and an estimated 70 tonnes in life, the Cretaceous giant from Argentina's Patagonia will take up virtually the entire touring exhibition hall.

The museum, founded in 1827, will mark its bicentenary next year, and chief executive Kim McKay said the display would be a centrepiece of the milestone.

Because local laws prevent the whole skeleton from leaving Patagonia, the museum will receive a moulded cast of the dinosaur, along with an original fossil thigh bone, which McKay said was the largest dinosaur fossil bone ever found.

"It will take up the entire length, virtually, of our touring exhibition hall down in the basement," McKay said. "I had never seen anything as big, and I've always been a bit of a dinosaur fanatic."

McKay said the animal was estimated to have weighed an extraordinary 70 tonnes when it had its flesh on it. She noted that recent finds had turned up only small fragments of bone that could point to an even larger species, "but at the moment, this is definitely the world's biggest [dinosaur]".

Patagotitan mayorum roamed Argentina's Patagonia during the Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago. The exhibition is one of several milestones for long-lived Sydney institutions: only a handful born in the city have reached 200 years, including Australia Post, the NSW Supreme Court, Westpac Bank and the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • A cast of the largest known dinosaur, accompanied by an original fossil thigh bone, gives Sydney audiences rare access to a scientifically significant specimen.
  • The exhibition anchors the museum's bicentenary year and is likely to be a major summer drawcard for the institution.
  • The display highlights how heritage protection laws shape which fossils can travel across international borders.

Background

Patagotitan mayorum is a titanosaur, part of a group of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs that includes some of the largest land animals ever known. It lived in what is now Argentina's Patagonia around 100 million years ago. The fossil thigh bone travelling to Sydney is described by the museum as the largest dinosaur fossil bone ever found.

Key Perspectives

Australian Museum: Chief executive Kim McKay describes the specimen as the world's biggest dinosaur and a highlight of the bicentenary program. The museum is sending a moulded cast rather than the original because Argentine law prevents the whole skeleton from leaving Patagonia.

Argentine authorities: Heritage protections keep the original Patagotitan skeleton in Patagonia, with only casts and select original elements, such as the thigh bone, permitted to travel.

Critics and skeptics: The display is a cast rather than the real skeleton, and McKay herself notes that recent fragmentary finds could yet reveal a larger dinosaur. There is also the practical question of fitting a 38-metre specimen into the museum, with McKay saying it will take up virtually the entire length of the basement hall.

What to Watch

  • Installation of the cast in the touring exhibition hall ahead of the summer opening.
  • Ongoing paleontological work in Argentina: fragmentary bone finds could potentially challenge Patagotitan's title as the largest dinosaur.
  • Further announcements from the Australian Museum as its bicentenary year approaches.

Sources

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