Giant 1,100-pound sauropod bone found in France

They first appeared in the late Triassic period, but this particular dinosaur is from the Jurassic era.

It was discovered "embedded" in a thick layer of clay by volunteers from the National Museum of Natural History.

The bone itself weighs an incredible 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds), barely heavier than your average modern horse.

And it was discovered alongside a giant pelvic bone hidden within the same layer of clay.

Charente is best known for the city of Cognac, home of brandy, but also a hotbed of fossils.

Paleontologists have already discovered around 7,500 bones from the site since 2010.

These bones are estimated to be related to up to 45 different species of dinosaurs.

But the femur is the largest bone discovered at the site so far.

“This femur is huge! And in an exceptional state of preservation," Jean-François Tournepiche, curator of the Angouleme Museum, told The Local.

"It's very moving," he added.

Experts believe the femur likely belonged to a sauropod, which is one of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the Earth.

Sauropods are identified by their long necks and plant-based diets.

And the bone itself still provides important details that only a trained eye could detect.

"We can see the insertions of muscles and tendons, scars," explained Ronan Allain, a paleontologist at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

"This is a very rare find as large pieces tend to collapse in on themselves, to fragment."