Paleontologists from China recently discovered an extraordinarily intact giant dinosaur skeleton. The discoverers said the fossil they found in a dig late last month in the soil is dated roughly 180 million years, to the Jurassic period.
A Mail Online report specified that the giant skeleton is approximately 70-percent complete and believed to have been almost eight meters long.
According to Wang Tao, the Dinosaur Fossil Conservation and Research Center of Lufeng City head, such a highly intact dinosaur fossil is a rare find all over the world.
Describing the discovery, Tao said, it is a "national treasure." He added his team is now hoping to dig the skull of the dinosaur.
A Giant Lufengosaurus Type
Based on the fossil these Chinese paleontologists discovered over the years, Tao explained, as well as on its tail and thigh bones, they believe what they found is a type of a giant Lufengosaurus, which existed during the Early Jurassic period.
Lufengosaurus, information from the Prehistoric Wildlife site specified, "has the honor of being the first dinosaur" to be assembled ever and mounted for exhibit in China.
And today, it is even one of the most famous displays in Chinese natural history exhibits featuring dinosaurs. The first species of Lufengusaurus called L. huenei, was named in 1940, the second larger type, L. magnus, was titled in 1947.
Nonetheless, L. magnus is frequently considered to be synonymous with L. huenei, although typically, the two are referred to as being separated.
It's also explained the given information about dinosaurs was more or less a usual sauropodomorph, sometimes cited as prosauropod dinosaur that was at least "capable of a bipedal stance."
Essentially, the Lufengosaurus' teeth are remarkably sharp, although these are not necessarily a specification of a meat-eating diet as such teeth are observed in some contemporary herbivorous lizards.
Emergency Dig
A similar Global Times report said; currently, the center is planning an emergency dig to rescue the giant dinosaur skeleton as it was discovered in a place in danger of soil erosion.
Discovering fossils that are as intact as this one in Lufeng is quite a rare occurrence in the field of paleontology. The species, in fact, made international headlines in 2017 when collagen protein was found preserve in a Lufengosaurus fossil's rib.
This particular protein was 100 million years older than any discovery of a similar sort in the past, reported media outlet BBC at that time.
Along with this discovery, the news company also reported scientists have also discovered hints of a mineral that possibly came from the blood of the early Jurassic dinosaur.
The said report also indicated that the Lufengosaurus's are believed to have been four-legged herbivores. They are also perceived to have been colloquially named as "Lufeng Lizards."
Earlier this year, the skeleton that belonged to a young dinosaur from the same Jurassic period was discovered in Lufeng.
The fossil was another exciting discovery by paleontologists in the said region as it does not match any other identified species of dinosaurs.
A similar report is shown on PatrynWorldLatestNew's YouTube video below:
Read also: Rare Find: 70 Million Years Old Bird-Like Dinosaur Preserved in Nest of Fossilized Eggs Discovered
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