First Dinosaur Bone Found in Antarctica Confirmed
Palaeontologists confirmed the 1985 fossil is a Titanosaur tail bone, helping explain dinosaur life in Antarctica where fossils are rare.
- Palaeontologist Mark Evans identified Antarctica's first dinosaur bone while reviewing British Antarctic Survey holdings, ending 40 years of storage in a drawer.
- Geologist Mike Thomson originally unearthed the specimen on James Ross Island on December 9, 1985, recording it as a "vertebra of large reptile" in his field notebook before it remained forgotten for decades.
- The fossil is a caudal vertebra from a Titanosaur that lived around 82 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period, with scientists estimating the animal was about 23ft long.
- Professor Paul Barrett from the Natural History Museum confirmed the identification, noting the bone's distinctive features; the study was published in the scientific journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
- This discovery offers new clues about how Titanosaurs spread across the Southern Hemisphere, with findings suggesting Antarctica was once highly habitable, helping scientists understand these giants' role in ancient ecosystems about 80 million years ago.
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First-ever dinosaur bone from Antarctica had been sitting in a drawer for decades
A fossil that was sitting in a collection drawer for decades has been found to belong to the first dinosaur remains ever discovered in Antarctica.
Fossil kept in drawer for decades turns out to be first ever Antarctica dinosaur bone
By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — A fossil that was sitting in a collection drawer for decades has been found to belong to the first dinosaur remains ever discovered in Antarctica. The vertebra or backbone was found in 1985 by a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) expedition, but was initially assessed as belonging to a large reptile, according to a statement from London’s Natural History Museum on Monday. After multiple decades in storage, it was spotted by …
For 40 Years, Historic Dinosaur Fossil Hid in a Drawer
A bone that spent decades in a museum drawer has just been promoted to a scientific first. Researchers now say the 10-centimeter fossil vertebra, collected on Antarctica's James Ross Island by a British Antarctic Survey geologist in 1985 and long mistaken for a marine creature, is actually from a titanosaur—...
Rare Antarctica dinosaur fossil discovered in most unlikely place…...
Scientists have stumbled on a rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica, tucked away for decades in a drawer. The bone comes from the tail of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur. Scientists haven’t yet identified the species it belongs to. It was discovered in 1985 during an expedition to Antarctica’s James Ross Island and collected by geologist Mike Thomson. Working with the British Antarctic Survey, Thomson was mapping the area…
It is a vertebra of the tail of a type of dinosaur called titanosaurus.They were the largest dinosaurs that have ever walked on Earth.
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