Finding dinosaurs in Egypt is rare, every specimen makes a difference. That’s why it’s so lucky that, on the northern end of the Nile, researchers found fossilized remains of a titanosaur, a long-necked, enormous dinosaur that stretched the length of a school bus. One researcher called the fossil “the holy grail” of African dinosaur discoveries.

The new dinosaur, a relative of the famous Patagotitan mayorum, is known only from ribs, some neck vertebrae and parts of the shoulder blades, legs and skull. It lived during the post-Cenemonian Cretaceous, around 94-66 million years ago, an era from which fossils are rare and often broken into bits. This partial skeleton, called Mansourasaurus shahinae, represents the most complete land vertebrate fossil from that era on mainland Africa.

Mansourasaurus was about the size of a bull African elephant, with the long neck and tail characteristic of titanosaurs. When extended, the ancient beast stretched as long as a school bus from head to tail, according to a release about the find. It also had bony plates embedded in its skin, like protective armor.

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