New type of dinosaur discovered

The fossilised remains of a new, long-necked dinosaur have been found in Madagascar.

The plant-eater, from a type known as titanosaur, was among the last dinosaurs to evolve.

Of the 30 species of titanosaur previously discovered this is the first one to provide all the bones making up a skeleton.

The Madagascar specimens include an adult skull and a nearly complete juvenile skull and skeleton.

It lived around 70 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous Period.

An adult would have grown to around 50ft in length, with a small head perched at the end of a narrow neck and a long, slender tail. It walked on all fours.

Its finders have named it Rapetosaurus krausei and say it confirms a suspected link between two types of dinosaur.

The work was funded by the US National Science Foundation and its earth science director Rich Lane said he is genuinely excited by the find.

He explained: "The discovery of this dinosaur is particularly exciting because it confirms a close relationship between the titanosaurs and brachiosaurs, something that could only be surmised previously."

The discovery was announced in the journal Nature by scientists the from State University of New York, Stony Brook and the Science Museum of Minnesota.