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Two new species of dinosaur, a plant-eating behemoth and a relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex that has been described as looking like a massive featherless turkey, have been discovered by paleontologists.

The two new species were found in separate digs in Argentina’s Patagonian region and China’s Gobi Desert.

The Argentinian dinosaur, christened Futalognkosaurus dukei, was a plant-eating beast somewhat similar to a Brontosaurus which would have lived around 80 million years ago. The dinosaur would have measured at least 32 metres (105 feet) in length. This makes it one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered. The name comes from the local Mapuche Indian language, and means “giant chief of the lizards”.

The Chinese discovery, Suzhousaurus megatherioides, was discovered in the Gobi desert in 2002, but has only recently been named and closely studied. The dinosaurs, whose name translates as “giant sloth-like lizard of Suzhou”, was a plant-eating relative of the Tyrannosaurus. Therizinosaurs had long necks with tiny heads, and short tails on a very wide body. The dinosaurs lived around 125 million years ago.

Sources: National Geographic and BBC

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