Odd Chinese dinosaur
Dan Chure sent me the following news item and asked me to forward it to the
Complete Fossilized Dinosaur Excavated in Northeast China
CNN online November 23 2000
SHENYANG, November 23 (Xinhua)-- A well-preserved 4.5-meter-long fossilized
dinosaur skeleton was excavated recently in Yixian County in northeast
China's Liaoning Province.
It was the first time that an intact dinosaur fossil was discovered in western
Liaoning, a major fossil reserve of various ancient animals in the world.
The newly excavated "Liaoning Dinosaur" was supposed to live between 124
million and 147 million years ago after a preliminary examination by Chinese
The cranium, teeth, scapula, vertebra, ribs, shank, coccyx [sic] and the claw
dinosaur skeleton were all preserved intact. The skull is 0.35 meters long and
2.5 meters wide [sic!]. The length between the neck vertebra and the pygal
[sic] is 2.35 meters, and the tailbone [sic] is 1.8 meters long.
The trace of the large dinosaur fossil was first spotted by local residents
October in a small village in Yixian County. Experts were sent immediately to
excavate the site.
The cause of the dinosaur's death, its species and living habits are awaiting
further research, said Bo Haichen, curator of the Liaoning branch museum of
China Geological Museum.
Most of the fossils excavated in western Liaoning may be traced back as early
as some 120 million years ago between the late Cretaceous Period and early
The excavation of the stunning feathered dinosaur and the earliest flowering
plants in the world has turned the area into a treasure house of various
Experts believe that the discovery of the well-preserved dinosaur fossil will
new evidence to study the evolution of ancient animals.