Palaeontology - New dinosaur species found in Zhejiang

After research for more than three years, Chinese and Japanese scientists confirmed that the dinosaur fossil they found in the Tiantai county of east China's Zhejiang province was a new dinosaur species. 

They named this dinosaur species the "Tiantai Yue Dinosaur." Their article about the research has been published in the U.K.-based Cretaceous Research magazine. 

The fossil was found in 1998 when a freeway was being constructed in the Tiantai county. 

Researchers found that the fossil covered various parts of a dinosaur including the cervical vertebra, vertebra, caudal vertebra, fore limbs and hind limbs and it was one of the best-preserved dinosaur fossils discovered in Zhejiang Province. 

Judging from the fossil, the dinosaur was about 1.5 meters long and less than 1 meter high and is the smallest dinosaur discovered so far in the province. 

Through further research, researchers also found that the dinosaur was a new species. Since the place where it was discovered belonged to Yue State in the past, they named it the "Tiantai Yue Dinosaur." 

This kind of dinosaur lived in the Cretaceous Period about 100 million years ago. 

 People's Daily Online 


Source: The Archaeology News Network