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Fossils of a large carnivorous dinosaur that was a big predator about 115 million years ago have been found in Thailand.

Scientists said the dinosaur, named Siamraptor suwati, was more than 26-foot-long (9 metres) and weighed at least 3.5 tonnes.

It is the largest meat-eating dinosaur found in Thailand.

Sections of the skeleton were found as fossils, including parts of the skull, backbone, limbs, hips and teeth.

A team led by Duangsuda Chokchaloemwong looked over the bones and found that the skeleton had air sacs. This would have made the dinosaur's frame lightweight and perhaps helped it breathe faster.

"From the first material we found, we knew right away this is an important specimen," Chokchaloemwong says.

The Siamraptor is a member of the carcharodontosaurs, a massive meat eating dinosaur. Carcharodontosaur means "shark toothed lizard" -it's called this because of its serrated, or jagged, teeth.

Carcharodontosaurs have tall and narrow snouts fitted with blade-like teeth.

The study, part of a research collaboration called the Japan-Thailand Dinosaur Project, was published in the journal PLOS One.