Biggest sites of dinosaur remains found in China

Palaeontologists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences announced they have unearthed 7600 dinosaur fossils since March 2008 around Zhucheng.

Hadrosaurid

The latest sites to be discovered are near the towns of Longdu, Shunwang, Jiayue and Zhigou.

The palaeontologists believe they have found one of the biggest sites of dinosaur remains from a massive excavation pit.

The fossilized bones date to the late Cretaceous period just prior to the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event.

The findings also include the remains of a 20 meter (66 ft) hadrosaurid, a record size for the duck-billed dinosaur. A fossilized skull of a large ceratopsian (pictured) was also found along with bones which belong to club-tailed ankylosaurs.

Such a high concentration of fossil bones in such a small area is significant for the theories of extinction of dinosaurs. A detailed scientific journal on the fossils is expected to be published later in 2009. Excavations are currently suspended for the winter but will resume when the weather gets warmer.

Scientists believe a volcanic eruption may have killed the dinosaurs, and a subsequent flood carried the fossils to Zhucheng, which may have been a wetland covered in grass.

The local authorities in Shandong are making plans to set up a fossil park in the area. Zhucheng has heavy mining activity which had been suspended because of cold weather.