
Thailand Pond Find Unmasks Nagatitan: Southeast Asia’s Largest Sauropod
A 2016 discovery of unusually large bones along a dried pond edge in Chaiyaphum, Thailand, led to a decade of excavations and analysis that culminated in May 2026 with the identification of a new sauropod species, Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis. Weighing about 27 tonnes and 27 meters long, it is the largest dinosaur found in Southeast Asia, living in the Early Cretaceous (~100–120 million years ago) and likely representing the last of its kind in the region. The skull was not recovered, and the name honors local culture (Naga) and the discovery site (Chaiyaphum).













