Plaza Huincul is far from being a classic tourist destination. This statue and the museum are about it.

But for 20 years I've dreamt of coming here, to see the remains of giants like Argentinosaurus, in the lands they used to roam. And I'm very lucky and glad I could make this dream come true 🦕 🪏

The new discoveries do illuminate what Argentinosaurus might have looked like - with 7 vertebrae and a few other bones, we can't know too much. The 2003 skeletal mount at the museum is now outdated, but still captures the absolute size of the animal.
Other replicas are on show, like Giganotosaurus

Despite the discovery of newer, more completely known giants like Patagotitan, the remains of Argentinosaurus still give it a leading edge for the title of largest land animal known (even if some other verts might have been a little longer, looking at BYU 9024 👀).

(I had a thread or two prepared about the great natural history museums in this country, but they failed last time - so will upload them in another day)

Today I've visited Plaza Huincul, specifically to see the real fossils of one particularly big creature: Argentinosaurus!

Many wildlife stories, memories and photos I hope to share someday, but I'll start with the most recent.
Since October I've been travelling around Argentina. For over 20 years, I dreamt of coming here, one of the most fossil rich countries on earth - with a particularly extensive dinosaur record 🦴

Exciting to hear about another member of the tribe!

While definitely imperfect, it is nice to see this movie get some accalim today (not to mention VFX that hold up very well!).

The second dinosaur ever named, among the 3 defining members of the group - and forever a number 1 for me. Not the biggest or weirdest, Iguanodon has its own charm.