Hong Kong discovers dinosaur fossils for the first time

Scientists have discovered dinosaur fossils for the first time in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG — Scientists have discovered dinosaur fossils for the first time in Hong Kong.

Initial analysis showed that the fossilized bone belonged to a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period about 145 million to 66 million years ago, the government said Wednesday in a statement, adding that future studies will confirm the exact species.

The bones were “scattered, fragmented, and weathered” when they were unearthed in a UNESCO-listed geopark in the Chinese territory’s Port Island, authorities said in a separate handout.

“Experts infer that the dinosaur may have been buried by sand and gravel after its death, later exposed to the surface by floods, and then reburied at the discovery site,” it said.

Hong Kong has found many plant and animal fossils, including ostracod and ammonite fossils from about 400 to 190 million years ago, but this is the first time dinosaur fossils have been unearthed in the city, the handout said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-discovers-dinosaur-fossils-first-time-rcna176980

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