Remains of large dinosaur skeleton unearthed in Portugal

PALAEONTOLOGISTS have been working away in a Portuguese backyard to unearth the remains of what could be the largest dinosaur ever found in Europe, University of Lisbon researchers said.

Fossilized fragments from the dinosaur were first discovered in 2017 by a property owner in the city of Pombal in central Portugal while doing construction work.

Earlier this month, Spanish and Portuguese paleontologists worked on the site to unearth what they reckon is a dinosaur that was about 25 metres (82 feet) long and lived around 145 million years ago, the university's Faculty of Sciences department said.

The skeleton belonged to a sauropod - a group of plant-eating, four-legged species of dinosaur characterised by long necks and tails, the researchers said.