A fossil of a new 85-million-year-old dinosaur species called "Yamanasaurus lojaensis" was found by Argentine scientists in the Yamana region of Loja province, southwestern Ecuador, according to the Azara Foundation (Conicet-Maimónides University), which said it is the "first time" that a finding of this type has been reported in that South American country.

"Dinosaur remains have been found throughout the 20th century in numerous South American countries, mainly Argentina and Brazil, but also in Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. However, until now, no bone had been reported for Ecuador," they explained in a statement.

The analysis of the remains showed that they are the remains of sauropod dinosaurs, long-necked herbivores of the titanosaurian group, the most abundant in the southern hemisphere.

Within the titanosaurus, the fossils were assigned to the small group of saltasaurinos, a special group of sauropods that lived between 85 and 65 million years ago.

Experts said that the interesting thing about the saltasaurinos is their small size (up to six meters long), their robustness (the bones of their limbs are short and thick), their protective armour and that all the bones of their vertebrae were perforated by air chambers that made them lighter",

The work was published in the latest issue of the prestigious scientific journal Cretaceous Research.

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