Brachiosaurus: How researchers in Phu Wiang study the remains of a giant new dinosaur from Thailand from 130 million years ago – BBC News Thailand

Paleontologists and geologists are using every tool available. to bring out the fossil remains of a new herbivorous dinosaur from Phu Wiang, Khon Kaen Province, but the interesting thing is that they hope that It may be a new species that will help to put together a jigsaw puzzle of the world 130 million years ago.

It was like the range of Hole 3 that created excitement for them. It is not like other fossil excavation sites in Thailand. You can barely push rocks that contain very few fossils.

“This is the hardest mining site I’ve ever come across,” said Dr Warawut.

In the past, he was also a member of the old Thai-French biological research expedition. who discovered a herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck called Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae or “Giant Reptile of Phuwiang” which is also the most famous one here.

At the same time, Dr. Surawet Sutheethorn, his son who became an expert in paleontology, following in his father’s footsteps. Attempts were made to use a drill to extract the rock surrounding the fossil, but the results were mixed.

The hardness of the rocks containing silica and calcium carbonate in this area. “It makes it feel like drilling through hard concrete,” said Dr Surawet, deputy director of the Paleontology Research and Education Center at Maha Sarakham University, adding that many of the drill heads were damage and break.

If there were no funding constraints, said Dr. Surawet that they might have to get equipment and tools that would turn the site into a quarry. But there is another obstacle that makes that idea stop. The sensitivity of the new dinosaur bones was in their hands.

The excavation team believes that it may be a new species of dinosaur in the genus. “Brachiosaurus (Brachiosaurus)” was a large, long-necked herbivore in the sauropod species group. It was probably 10-15 meters tall and 20 meters long and weighed about 78 tons, or -equivalent to 15 African elephants.

“The Brachiosaurus has a special feature: it is big, shaped like a giraffe, and has a long and high neck, but with its body like this, So it has a very good engineering design. His bones are like a sponge. For example, the cervical spine – the vertebrae are seen as large pieces, but inside they are full of pores. Therefore, the surface of his bones is very thin. Some spots were less than 1 millimeter thin, so it was difficult for us to get the stone out of the bone. Because when we hit it down It breaks at the soft part. that is bone So if we do it in a hurry, the ground part is the bones. instead of stones,” explained Dr. Surawet.

At first, the research team thought the fossil remains in the third hole were Phuwiangosaurus sirinhorne, but later Dr. Surawet that the size of the bones was very different.

“The Phuwiangosaurus at Hole 1 is the largest and oldest. old And we remembered that his spine would be 40-50 centimeters, but when we came across this piece [ในหลุม 3] It was twice as big. So it occurred to me that it might not be a Phuwiangosaurus anymore.”

So far, the excavation work, which has been going on for almost a year, has progressed about 20-30%, but it is a misunderstanding. If we believe that fossils lie beautifully arranged Waiting for paleontologists to discover after hundreds of millions of years have passed. Because the truth is, they are piled together like pork bones in Tom Leng soup.

“It was like he had been dead for a while. Until the body is tired Then a flood happened in the area where he died. Then he blew all the bones down the river,” Dr. Surawet explained the picture. “It’s like the Mae Sai mudslide where we saw a motorcycle piled against the wall of a house. When the bones are pressed together, they all cross together. It turned out that we were cutting the backbone. It appeared an unexpected piece making mining even more difficult.”

The excavation team is trying to collect the bones and gather as much information as they can. Then find its main features or characteristics. By comparing it with fossils that have been found before, both at home and abroad. To find the most similar types as possible Then write a research article for publication in an academic journal. Download a presentation about dinosaurs. Along with asking for a name They expect that proof that this is a new species of brachiosaurus will become clearer next year.

If all available evidence confirms that this is the sixth new dinosaur species from Phu Wiang, it will become the largest herbivorous dinosaur from the 130 million year era found in Thailand.

“It’s a herbivorous dinosaur that was discovered at the same time as Phuwiangosaurus. but more This means that the forest here must be very rich, as now we will meet elephants. It had to be found in a forest that was very fertile and had a lot of resources. said the leader of this excavation

Paleontologists also say that They found dinosaurs eating a lot of space in Phu Wiang. In the proportion of 7 carnivores and 2 herbivores, which is unusual because it is normal to find more herbivorous dinosaurs, so they assumed that the mouth of a river could be an area where different animals come to find food. and attracts many carnivores and predators to this area. But to find these answers It all depends on further research and digging in the future.

Mr. Sutham Wongchan, head of the Phu Wiang National Park Head of the group, breaking through a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork. To break the restrictions on activities in the national park area. “It’s illegal to remove even one rock,” so much so that they can siphon money from the fossil management fund. The Department of Mineral Resources can come. They told BBC Thai that they had been applying for financial aid for 3 years until they almost gave up.

“Finally, I threatened him that if he didn’t give me a scholarship in 2024, I would stop asking. And let it stay like this,” said the head of Phu Wiang National Park jokingly. He also said that this latest excavation is believed to be the first fossil excavation site to be opened in more than 30 years at Phu Wiang.

When asked what motivates the superintendent His main goal is to protect the forest and various species within its boundaries Want to push for the excavation of fossils that are hundreds of millions of years old old in the national park again, he answered with a smile, “Actually, in the past, I had chosen to study geology. But I didn’t pass the test. Get into forestry.”

Mr. Sutham said there is an area of ​​about 10,000 rai at Phu Wiang that is waiting to be explored to find new fossils.

“I think there must be predators in the 130 million years of living society. Hunted animals, different plants, not just dinosaurs. But there must be other animals as well, who must come across many things. But at the moment we have only met a few dinosaurs,” said the head of Phu Wiang National Park.

Dr. Surawet that the period is 130 million years early Cretaceous. This is the period after the Jurassic period that is still full of mystery for researchers and paleontologists around the world to continue exploring.

“This is an era that is recovering from previous extinctions. But the problem is that, in other parts of the world, fossils are rarely found at this time. Because there are not many rock layers found at this time. The closest ones are in England and Spain. There are cases in South America from this time. southern China was from a younger period than this. So it’s an interesting point because it might help explain or tell us that this is a hot spot that could be the origin of today’s dinosaurs,” said a paleontologist from Maha University Sarakham.

Dr. Surawet gave an example that Kinnaremimus, the first ostrich dinosaur in Thailand, was previously found at Phu Wiang. Later there was information that he was the oldest of this group. So, it is possible that it may have come in this area. before spreading to other places

“The brachiosaurus is the youngest of the group. Because it was discovered from the Jurassic period. If so, they might be the last to escape, enter and live here. While Phuwiangosaurus is a group that will continue to evolve into later generations of dinosaurs, there is still the question of how it evolved between the two. Let us stay together or replace each other. which is a big problem all over the world,” he explained.

“I think there are many answers to extinction. Perhaps the answer to the birth of various things in Phu Wiang. Or it could be at these 3 holes,” said the head of Phu Wiang National Park.

Visitors to Phu Wiang National Park are now also trained to look for fossils found in rocks. As a result, they have discovered new areas that are likely to be Phu Wiang fossil sites. And this is in addition to normal watch work. The goal is often to prevent and prevent the cutting of valuable trees and hunting of forest products in national parks.

Mr Sutham said he wanted to turn Phu Wiang into a world of dinosaurs like the film. “Jurassic Park” where people enter the valley and learn about the ancient world with paleontologists who are busy solving the mystery of the 130 million year old world.

“I want to make this a living learning center,” he concluded with BBC Thai.