Thailand has made another significant breakthrough in palaeontology after researchers identified a new species of long-necked dinosaur in Kalasin province, strengthening the country’s position on the global dinosaur discovery map.
The newly discovered dinosaur has been named Uragasaurus kalasinensis, a new genus and species of sauropod found in the Phu Kradung Formation in northeastern Thailand.
The discovery was published in the journal Scientific Reports on July 8 through a study titled “A new mamenchisaurid sauropod from the Lower Phu Kradung Formation, Upper Jurassic of northeastern Thailand”.
The research was conducted by a team of scientists including Apirut Nilpanapan, Sita Manitkoon, Varavudh Suteethorn and Komsorn Lauprasert.
The fossils were discovered at the Phu Noi site in Ban Din Chi village, Kham Muang district, Kalasin, an area recognised as one of Southeast Asia’s richest and most productive locations for non-marine vertebrate fossil discoveries.
Researchers said the prehistoric site is located within the lower section of the Phu Kradung Formation, which forms the lowest geological unit of the Khorat Group.
According to the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre at Mahasarakham University, the fossils are estimated to be around 150 million years old, placing them in the Late Jurassic period.
Uragasaurus kalasinensis belongs to the Mamenchisauridae family, a group of long-necked sauropod dinosaurs that were mainly known to have existed in East Asia.
The study highlighted that although mamenchisaurid dinosaurs were widely discovered in East Asia during the Middle to Late Jurassic period, their diversity and distribution outside China had previously been poorly documented.
Researchers described the discovery as highly significant as Uragasaurus kalasinensis is the first officially named sauropod dinosaur from the Mamenchisauridae family found in Thailand.
The species was identified based on the holotype specimen labelled PRC 460, consisting of part of an anterior dorsal vertebra fossil preserved at the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University.
Scientists explained that the dinosaur was distinguished from other sauropods through unique anatomical features found in its vertebra, including internal honeycomb-like air structures known as camellate pneumatic structures identified through computed tomography (CT) scan analysis.
