The quantity and variety of fossils present in China are unmatched on a world scale, Chinese dinosaur specialists have stated.
The Dashanpu Middle Jurassic Dinosaur Fossil Site, situated in Sichuan Province, is without doubt one of the richest and most famed websites on this planet, having unearthed greater than 200 dinosaur fossils and different vertebrae so far.
These included fish, amphibians, sauropods and plesiosaurs, in addition to essentially the most full skeleton of a Stegosaurus dinosaur, that includes distinctive tail spines and kite-shaped plates on its again.
“These invaluable fossils present essential materials for analysis on dinosaur classification, physiological traits and evolutionary historical past,” Huang Xinyue, deputy director of the Zigong Dinosaur Museum, instructed the Global Times.
CHINESE DINOSAURS BOOM
To date, greater than 300 species of dinosaurs have been found and recognized in China, greater than every other nation on this planet.
According to statistics from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing, as of December 2023, China has named 343 varieties of dinosaurs.
Likewise, in line with the US National Parks Service, the United States and China stay the highest two international locations to have named essentially the most dinosaur species, with greater than 320 every.
The first dinosaur found in China was Sinosauropteryx, a small carnivorous flying dinosaur and the primary recognized feathered dinosaur, within the northeastern province of Liaoning by a fossil hunter named Li Yumin.
Numerous dinosaur discoveries have been reported throughout the nation this yr, together with 400 dinosaur footprints relationship again 120 million years, which have been present in Lufeng metropolis in Yunnan province, a hotbed of dinosaur looking that drives additionally native tourism.
In January, researchers and archaeologists exploring the Yanshan Mountains in northern China unearthed a uncommon discover: exquisitely preserved uncommon fossils relationship again 1.63 billion years, setting a world document for the oldest fossils of its type. sort.
The following month, in February, Chinese paleontologists unearthed fossils of a brand new dinosaur from a development website within the metropolis of Ganzhou in jap Jiangxi province.
The bones have been later recognized as these of a large sauropod known as Gandititan Cavocaudatus, whose neck and tail have been believed to be greater than 5 meters lengthy.
Earlier this month, Chinese paleontologists found two almost full dinosaur fossils in northern China’s Inner Mongolia.
The groundbreaking discovery, known as Yuanyanglong Bainian (which interprets to lovebird dragon), represents a brand new group of oviraptorosasaur dinosaurs, the researchers stated: bird-like dinosaurs recognized for his or her distinct brief, parrot-like skulls.
Fossils believed to belong to a “massive dinosaur” have been additionally found on a distant, uninhabited island in Hong Kong in October, with additional research underway to find out extra particulars concerning the species.
