Dinosaurs of Patagonia

Some of the most important dinosaur discoveries of our time will be on display at Te Papa from December 2023. The New Zealand exclusive exhibition includes fossils and casts of bones discovered in Patagonia in South America. You’ll see one of the biggest dinosaur bones on the planet, a 2.4-meter-long, half-ton thigh bone from the Patagotitan.

Te Papa palaeontologist Dr Felix Marx, who has himself discovered several extinct species, says the exhibition is an extraordinary opportunity for New Zealanders. “The sheer scale of these animals is mind-blowing, and they give us incredible new insights into dinosaur evolution.”

The immersive, interactive exhibition from Argentina’s Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio includes scientific casts of a dozen Patagonian dinosaurs. The precise replica skeletons are made using 3D scanning and offer unparalleled detail and scale.

Undoubtedly, the biggest drawcard will be the showstopping cast of one of the world’s biggest dinosaurs. The 37-meter-long herbivore Patagotitan mayorum was said to weigh the equivalent of over 14 elephants.