Titanosaur: new dinosaur set to replace London’s Natural History Museum’s beloved Dippy in Spring 2023

A 115ft dinosaur is set to replace “Dippy” the Diplodocus , London’s current prehistoric behemoth, next spring as the Natural History Museum in London is set to introduce patrons to the Titanosaur. The Patagotitan mayorum will reside in the Waterhouse Gallery upon its arrival - the only space large enough to house the new exhibit. The largest herbivore will be raised above patrons of the museum to walk under from March 31 2023.

The titanosaur is four times as big as the museum’s current largest display, Hope, the blue whale, and weighs 57 tonnes, a weight equivalent to more than nine African elephants. Dippy, a diplodiocus, by comparison is 85ft long and weighs between 11 and 15 tons, becoming a mammoth task to take down and rebuild but after a national tour of the beloved dinosaur is a task the Natural History Museum have become more than familiar to undertaking.

The full-sized cast of the titanosaur is based on the original fossils first discovered by a ranch worker in Chubut Province, Patagonia, which is owned by the Mayo family. Over a series of several digs in 2012, 2013 and 2015 a team from the Museo Paleontolígico Egidio Feruglio, recovered numerous bones from six different skeletons. Due to its location, large size and the family land it was discovered on, the species’ name, Patagotitan mayorum, was derived from the circumstances.

Dr Alex Burch, director of public programmes at the museum, said: “We are so excited that Patagotitan, the most complete giant dinosaur ever discovered, is making its European debut here at the Natural History Museum, the home of the dinosaur. Our fascination with dinosaurs provides the ideal opportunity to inspire and inform the next generation about the natural world, and empower them to act for the planet.”

Less about the tail of the titanosaur however, the better; a large chunk of cartilage appears missing having been attacked by another exhibit arriving at the Natural History Museum, a replica skull of a Tyrannotitan.

“One of the tail vertebrae has a long straight gouge along its surface that is likely to have been caused by a large predatory dinosaur taking a bite. We don’t know if the animal was alive or not when its tail was bitten” Professor Paul Barrett, a dinosaur expert and the museum’s science lead on the exhibition, said.

“There are large meat-eating dinosaurs from the same time and place as Patagotitan and it’s likely that one of these, possibly the T-Rex-sized Tyrannotitan, was the likely culprit.”