Enormous dinosaur dubbed Shiva 'The Destroyer' is one of the biggest ever discovered

A newly discovered 98-foot-long dinosaur named after the Hindu god Shiva "The Destroyer" stomped around Argentina alongside other long-necked "megatitanosaurs" more than 90 million years ago, scientists reveal. 

Researchers described the humongous beast, called Bustingorrytitan shiva, late last year from fossils discovered in western Argentina. Now, they've worked with an artist to recreate the Cretaceous titanosaur, a stockier type of long-necked sauropod, in stunning images and videos.

B. shiva is among the largest sauropods ever recorded, with an estimated weight of around 74 tons (67 metric tons), according to a study published Dec. 18, 2023, in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. It wasn't the largest dinosaur — fellow titanosaur Argentinosaurus is one contender for that disputed honor, with an estimated weight starting at 77 tons (70 metric tons) — but B. shiva was still an almighty member of the ancient Argentinian ecosystem. 

The B. shiva discovery in the North Patagonia region of southern South America demonstrates that "megatitanosaurs" with gigantism in excess of 55 tons (50 metric tons) evolved separately within titanosaurs, according to study lead author María Edith Simón, a paleontologist who ran the B. shiva excavation. 

"In Patagonia, we are still at a stage where we are more likely to find something new than something known, and the unknown is often wonderful," Simón told Live Science in an email. "In the publication we reported on a sauropod that became a giant, independently of others within their group."

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A farmer named Manuel Bustingorry found the first giant fossil from B. shiva on his land in Neuquén Province in 2000. Simón said she was responsible for the lab and research area at the nearby Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum in the early 2000s and excavated the farm in 2001.