Argentina: Villa El Chocon Paleontological Museum
he Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum in the small town of Villa El Chocon is absolutely incredible and amazing – this is the place where one of the most important and complete set of dinosaur remains were discovered as well as several bizarre dinosaur species unknown until then. Gigantasaurus Caralinii was found just 18km south of town in 1997, the world’s largest carnivorous dinosaur, and the skeleton was nearly 70% complete! The size of the animal is estimated at 12-13 m (39-43 ft) long, a skull 1.5-1.8 m (5-6 ft) in length, and a weight of 4 to 14 tons, making the gigantasaurus larger than the Jurassic Park favorite Tyrannasaurus Rex. The museum also shows three other species of dinosaurs discovered here – Neuquensaurus, Amargasaurus, and Bajadasaurus – the latter totally bizarre looking. Both the original bones and the reconstructed full skeletons are on display.
