BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhuanet) -- A new dinosaur species, one of the largest known carnivorous dinosaurs, has been discovered in the fossil-rich Patagonia region of Argentina, scientists said Monday.

    Paleontologists reported that they had found the fossils of seven to nine individuals of a species they are naming Mapusaurus roseae, which is estimated to have lived about 100 million years ago. The discovery suggests the previously unknown animal may have lived and hunted in groups.

    Dr. Philip J. Currie of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, co-leader of the excavations, said in a statement: "The presence of so many animals in one quarry suggests that they were living together in a pack at the time leading up to their catastrophic death."

    An analysis of the bones showed one adult exceeded 12 meters in length, slightly larger than specimens of both its close relatives - Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex, the researchers reported.

    The fossils were excavated over five years, beginning in 1995, before scientists realized they were dealing with a new species of giant carnivores, members of the broader meat-eating carcharodontosaurids. 

    Currie said that pack hunting may have allowed Mapusaurus to prey on the biggest known dinosaur, Argentinosaurus, a 38-meter-long plant-eater.

    "Mapusaurus" comes from the word for "Earth" in the language of the Mapuche tribe of western Patagonia, while "roseae" refers both to the rose-colored rock that yielded the specimens and to the name of a sponsor of the excavations. Enditem

    (Agencies)