[The Epoch Times, April 11, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Kang Yier compiled and reported) Scientists have discovered a new fossil of the leg bone of Thescelosaurus in North Dakota, USA. According to research, the dinosaur died just 66 million years ago in the disaster caused by an asteroid hitting the Earth.
According to The Guardian, the leg bone is well preserved, with dinosaur skin glued to it. Scientists describe the leg as if it was “mummified” and well preserved.
After dating, the researchers believe that the leg bone came from 66 million years ago, and the remains of an asteroid impacting the earth were also found near the site where the fossil was excavated, so they speculated that this dinosaur is likely to be the one where the disaster occurred. Died one day.
Studies in previous years have confirmed that the catastrophe caused by an asteroid nearly 10 kilometers in diameter hitting Earth 66 million years ago caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and left a huge Chicxulub Crater in the Gulf of Mexico. . This is one of the top ten craters in the world and is 150 kilometers wide.
One of the key members of the excavation team, Phillip Manning, a professor of natural history at The University of Manchester, UK, was surprised by how well the leg bone was preserved. “It’s an absolute miracle,” he said.
The excavation team found the fossil at the Tanis site in North Dakota, USA. This site also retains all kinds of evidence, which can restore the scene at the time of the disaster, so this site is one of the hot spots for scientists to study.
Manning said: “The time line this site offers is absolutely beyond my imagination. I can’t believe that such a site exists. In my entire career, I never dared to have the opportunity to examine such a valuable one. The ruins not only reflect clear chronological information, but also tell a vivid story.”
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) program team followed the excavation team to the scene to film the entire excavation process and made a documentary about to be broadcast.
Paul Barrett, a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, said the leg appeared to belong to a dinosaur of the genus Strangesaurus. The name of this dinosaur is “beautiful lizard” in ancient Greek. Scientists never knew what this dinosaur’s skin looked like before.
Through the fossil of this leg, they found that the dinosaur’s skin was covered with scales like a lizard, Barrett told BBC News: “Not feathered like other carnivorous dinosaurs of the same period.”◇#
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei