Brontomerus (Thunder Thighs): New Dinosaur Discovered

by Jordan Yerman | February 23, 2011 at 12:01 pm

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Brontomerus: 'Thunder Thighs' Had a Hell of a Kick

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that they're calling Brontomerus mcintoshi. "Brontomerus" means "thunder thighs": the name was picked because of the herbivore's massive legs. The "mcintoshi" bit is in honor of Wesleyan University physics professor and dinosaur expert John McIntosh.

Scientists estimate that Brontomerus could kick three times as hard as similarly-sized dinosaurs. Would Brontomerus get Cretaceous on your ass? Let this be the answer to your question:

"It may be that males lined up next to each other, side by side, and kicked the crap out of each other," said Mike Taylor, a palaeontologist and lead author on the study at University College London.

Why would they kick the crap out of each other, though? In the name of mating? Territory? Entertainment?

Thunder Thighs was found in Grand County, Utah, in 1994. Only recently was it realized that a new species had been discovered, and that it dated to a period when sauropods of its type had been thought to have died out.

You must hit the video below to see the artist's impression of Brontomerus drop-kicking a would-be predator. It's like Diplodocus meets Vinnie Jones.

The chunky-legged sauropod roamed the Earth 110m years ago and shared the land with agile, carnivorous raptors that it may have fended off with devastating kicks.