Researchers said Thursday they had
found the "most important" Italian dinosaur fossil site, near
the northeastern port city of Trieste.
The site at Villaggio del Pescatore contains at least seven new
dinosaur fossils including one virtually complete, said the
palaeontologists.
The international research group, led by Federico Fanti of
Bologna University, has published its findings in the journal
Scientific Reports.
The dinosaur is Tethyshadros insularis, an herbivore that lived
80 million years ago and reached up to five metres in length.
The first exemplar, dubbed Antonio, was discovered 30 years ago.
"Already, 30 years ago, the Villaggio del Pescatore site brought
to light an extraordinary fossil remains, a practically complete
individual of Tethyshadros insularis," Fanti told ANSA.
"But it was a single find, like all the others done on Italian
territory. Now for the first time we have a whole group, a site
where we have many individuals and we can excavate to analyse
and compare their remains".
The area, a former limestone quarry, has unearthed various
remains, of seven to 11 individuals including a particularly
complete one the researchers have dubbed Bruno.
After comparing the new remains with those of the first dinosaur
Antonio, the experts have also realised that the first remains
in fact belonged to a young individual and not a 'dwarf'
species, typical of islands, as had hitherto been believed.
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