Say Hello to Patagotitan!

For the 2022 Wild Safari Prehistoric World collection, Safari Ltd is starting off by continuing its tradition of awesome, accurate, and highly detailed dinosaur figures! Our newest Dino figurine is the giant long-necked sauropod: Patagotitan mayorum!

First described in 2017, Patagotitan is believed to be one of the largest dinosaurs (and largest land animals) to ever walk the Earth. How big did this massive dino grow? Estimates vary, but scientists believe it could reach sizes of over 100 feet long, and weigh over 50 tons!

A Desert Discovery

In 2008, a farm worker in Patagonia, South America discovered part of a thigh bone of a huge animal in the desert. This led to paleontologists flocking to the site, where excavations from 2013 to 2015 uncovered hundreds more fossils from various dinosaurs.

Six different skeletons, with about 130 bones in total found, were determined to belong to a new species of sauropod dinosaur – Patagotitan mayorum. It’s name means “Titan of Patagonia” with “mayorum” referring to the Mayo family, who owned the ranch where its bones were first found.

Image Credit: The Royal Society Publishing

Titanic Titanosaurs

All these bones made Patagotitan one of the most completely known members of the Titanosaur group. This large group of long-necked sauropod dinosaurs was found all over the world and lived right up until the extinction event that killed most of the dinosaurs on the planet around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Examples include large sauropods like Patagotitan and Argentinosaurus, as well as relatively smaller dinosaurs like Malawisaurus and Saltasaurus.

Malawisaurus, relative of Patagotitan

Who’s the Biggest Dino?

For a short time after its discovery, Patagotitan was thought to be the largest land animal ever discovered. However, it can be difficult to accurately determine the size of large sauropod dinosaurs, because usually only parts of the skeleton are found. In the case of Patagotitan, a sizable amount of the total skeleton has been recovered, although the remains come from many different individuals.

Bones from the tail, neck, back, ribs, legs, and shoulders have all been found for Patagotitan, giving a clearer than usual picture of what this sauropod dinosaur looked like, and how large it could potentially be. While no skull has been discovered, this is typical of long-necked sauropod dinosaurs, as their skulls are relatively small and rarely preserved as fossils. 

 Safari Ltd's Patagotitan Figure

A Titan-Sized Toy Dinosaur

Patagotitan offers a fascinating look into just how large dinosaurs and land animals could grow. The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago currently has a full-sized reconstruction of Patagotitan’s skeleton in its lobby, and being in the presence of this immense skeletal model can give a real sense of just how gigantic these creatures were.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Safari Ltd’s new Wild Safari Prehistoric World Patagotitan figure is the dinosaur toy this ancient giant deserves, with a highly detailed and thoroughly researched sculpt measuring over 15 inches long. While it’s not as big as the real thing, we hope you’re as excited to own this amazing dinosaur figure as we are to share it with our Safari Fans!

Patagotitan (front) with another South American Sauropod, Amargasaurus (rear)