阿根廷古生物学家日前表示，他们已经发现了一具几乎完整无缺的幼年泰坦龙（titanosaurus）的骨骼化石。据科学家们估计，这只泰坦龙生活在大约7100万年前。

    据法新社12月26日援引阿根廷当地媒体的报道，阿根廷库依欧大学教授、地质学家兼古生物学家的贝尔纳多·冈萨雷斯·里加表示：“这个发现最为特别的地方就是，这具泰坦龙遗骸居然还由关节连接着。好像这只泰坦龙当时是摔倒或者倒下了，并且就这样被保存了下来。从化石上看不出它被其它动物捕食的迹象。”

    冈萨雷斯表示，科学家发现这只泰坦龙一只脚的骸骨上“所有的脚趾和爪子都保存得异常完好”；同时，还有它完整的背部骨骼、尾巴以及一部分骨盆化石。冈萨雷斯说，这些发现非常罕见，因为在世界范围内只有一两具泰坦龙骸骨化石具备了完整的脚部。

    报道说，德国一个石油公司——温特斯豪能源（Wintershall Energy）公司在阿根廷纽昆省开采石油时发现了这具泰坦龙化石遗骸。此前，人们曾在这一地区发现了很多古生物化石。科学家对这些骸骨化石进行初步检测后认为，这些骸骨属于一只年幼的泰坦龙，它身长大约10米，体重为12吨。而这种巨大的食草动物成年后则可以长到35米长，它们生活在白垩纪末期（约8300万年至6500万年前）。

    冈萨雷斯说，这只泰坦龙的骸骨化石从肋骨到尾巴几乎保存完好，但是唯独不见其头部和颈部。

    据科学家们猜测，这两部分很可能是在数千万年当中被冲掉了。目前，这些化石已经被送到纽昆省的Lago Barreales古生物研究中心，进行更为深入的分析研究。 

    Argentine paleontologists have discovered the largely intact skeleton of a young titanosaurus that lived 71 million years ago.

    "What's extraordinary about this is that the remains were articulated, as if the animal had fallen or lain down and remained that way. There were no signs that it was preyed on," local media reported geologist and paleontologist Bernardo Gonzalez Riga as saying.

    Scientists discovered the remains of a foot "with all its toes and claws in an exceptional state of preservation," as well as the complete rear bones, tail, "and part of the pelvis," Gonzalez said.

    Such finds are rare, said Gonzalez, adding that there are only one or two titanosauruses in the world with complete feet.

    Gonzalez is a professor at Cuyo University, one of two universities with teams that excavated the remains.

    "This now adds to that and brings new data of regional national and international relevance," he said.

    The remains were discovered while German petroleum company Wintershall Energy was prospecting for oil in Nuequen province, where many paleontological discoveries have been made.

    An initial examination of the remains suggest a small young titanousaurus about 10 meters (yards) long that weighed about 12 tons. The giant herbivores, which grew up to 35 meters long, lived during the late Cretaceous period (83-65 million years ago).

    While the skeleton is almost complete from ribs to tale, there is no sign of the head and neck, which were likely washed away over the millennia, said Gonzalez.

    The fossils were taken to the Lago Barreales Palentological Center in Neuquen for analysis, the report said.