New Dinosaur Species Looks Like A Droopy Eeyore With A Plum For A Brain

First Posted: Apr 27, 2016 05:42 AM EDT

A complete skull from a new species of titanosaur is giving paleontologists a new insight as to how these giants lived millions of years ago. The new species, called Sarmientosaurus musacchioi, was found to be a herbivore that lived 95 million years ago in what is now known as Patagonia, Argentina.

Presentaron en PlosOne el Sarmientosaurus musacchioi https://t.co/J8kZ11IGmN titanosaurio desc en 1997 x R Martínez pic.twitter.com/OOrpI2jGQt

— Nora Bär (@norabar) April 26, 2016

National Geographic reported that Ruben Martinez of the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco found several neck vertebrae, ossified tendon, and a preserved skull. This is especially important because according to paleontologists involved in the study, of over 60 legit titanosaur species named to date, the Sarmientosaurus is only the fourth one to have an entire skull - and the most complete and best preserved from South America to date.

CT scans of the fossil's cranium hint of the Sarmientosaurus being part of the titanosaur family, although it seems to have a more primitive look compared to its cousins living in the same era. Mathew Wedel of the Western University of Health Sciences in California said that there was an anatomical gap between the titanosaurs and older sauropods, like the Brachiosaurus, and the Sarmientosaurus are the ones to have bridged the gap.

In studying the skull further, it was revealed that the new species were set apart from its relatives. Its eye sockets are large, indicating that it has better vision than its kin. Its inner ear was also said to pick up low-frequency sounds, which means that they communicated with low rumbles.

What's fascinating, however, is that the study suggested that the dinosaur, despite its size, the inner ear,and preserved neck tendon showed that the giant lumbered around with its neck drooping, sort of like the AA Milne Character, Eeyore.

However, The New York Times mentioned that Lawrence M. Witmer from Ohio University noted that the brain of the massive dinosaur is only the size of a plum or a lime. "You try not to judge him, but it's a pretty small brain," he said.