Arabian Legend
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First dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia
A tail from a Brontosaurus-like dinosaur, along with some teeth from a carnivorous theropod, are the first dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia.
Researchers said the fossils were discovered in a desert that was once a beach.
"Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, with only a handful of highly fragmented bones documented this far" Benjamin Kear of Uppsala University in Sweden said in a press release. "This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them. Indeed, these are the first taxonomically recognizable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula."
The teeth and bones are approximately 72 million years old.
The dinosaur finds were published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. Researchers from Sweden, Australia and Saudi Arabia documented the discovery together.
Dinosaur bones discovered in Saudi Arabia for the 1st time
A team of international researchers has uncovered dinosaur bones for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
A string of vertebrae from a huge “Brontosaurus-like” dinosaur and some teeth from a carnivorous dinosaur were discovered in dry desert, along the coast of the Red Sea.
The teeth are about 72 million years old, researchers said.
Dinosaur bones are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, said Benjamin Kear, a researcher based at Uppsala University in Sweden. He said before this discovery, only a handful of highly fragmented fossils had been found in the region. Kear said none of those fossils were recognizable as belonging to dinosaurs.
“This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them.” said Kear, the lead author of an article about the discovery published in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers from Australia and Saudi Arabia also contributed to the study.
The discovery of dinosaur fossils is rare for Saudi Arabia because when dinosaurs roamed the area millions of years ago, the region was mostly underwater. This means that dinosaur bones that are found would have been washed out into sea and buried.
“Saudi Arabia is a very large, unexplored country when it comes to dinosaur bones. It’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “This is just the beginning of what we hope is going to be better and more identifiable material.”
Saudi Red Sea coast was once home to meat-eating dinosaurs
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH – A team of scientists from the Saudi Geological Survey with the active support of Uppsala University,
Museum Victoria and Monash University have uncovered the first record of dinosaurs from Saudi Arabia.
What is now dry desert was once a beach littered with the bones and teeth of ancient marine reptiles and dinosaurs.
The researchers found teeth and bones dating from around 72 million years ago in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia along the coast of the Red Sea, according to the scientific journal PLOS ONE which published the finds jointly authored by participating researchers from Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Australia.
Two types of dinosaur were described from the assemblage, a bipedal meat-eating abelisaurid distantly related to Tyrannosaurus but only about six meters long, and a plant-eating titanosaur perhaps up to 20 meters in length.
“These are the first taxonomically recognizable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula,” Australian paleobiologist Benjamin Kear said in a statement.
“Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, with only a handful of highly fragmented bones documented this far,” he said.
“Dinosaur remains from the Arabian Peninsula and the area east of the Mediterranean Sea are exceedingly rare because sedimentary rocks deposited in streams and rivers during the Age of Dinosaurs are rare, particularly in Saudi Arabia itself,” said Dr. Tom Rich from Museum Victoria in Australia.
When these dinosaurs were alive, the Arabian landmass was largely underwater and formed the northwestern coastal margin of the African continent.
“The hardest fossil to find is the first one,” Dr. Rich said.
Saudi Gazette - Saudi Red Sea coast was once home to meat-eating dinosaurs
First dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia |World | News | Toronto Sun
Dinosaur bones discovered in Saudi Arabia for the 1st time - Technology & Science - CBC News
Interesting isn't? If I only could get the chance to participate in this study. It would be awesome.
Researchers said the fossils were discovered in a desert that was once a beach.
"Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, with only a handful of highly fragmented bones documented this far" Benjamin Kear of Uppsala University in Sweden said in a press release. "This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them. Indeed, these are the first taxonomically recognizable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula."
The teeth and bones are approximately 72 million years old.
The dinosaur finds were published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. Researchers from Sweden, Australia and Saudi Arabia documented the discovery together.
Dinosaur bones discovered in Saudi Arabia for the 1st time
A team of international researchers has uncovered dinosaur bones for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
A string of vertebrae from a huge “Brontosaurus-like” dinosaur and some teeth from a carnivorous dinosaur were discovered in dry desert, along the coast of the Red Sea.
The teeth are about 72 million years old, researchers said.
Dinosaur bones are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, said Benjamin Kear, a researcher based at Uppsala University in Sweden. He said before this discovery, only a handful of highly fragmented fossils had been found in the region. Kear said none of those fossils were recognizable as belonging to dinosaurs.
“This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them.” said Kear, the lead author of an article about the discovery published in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers from Australia and Saudi Arabia also contributed to the study.
The discovery of dinosaur fossils is rare for Saudi Arabia because when dinosaurs roamed the area millions of years ago, the region was mostly underwater. This means that dinosaur bones that are found would have been washed out into sea and buried.
“Saudi Arabia is a very large, unexplored country when it comes to dinosaur bones. It’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “This is just the beginning of what we hope is going to be better and more identifiable material.”
Saudi Red Sea coast was once home to meat-eating dinosaurs
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH – A team of scientists from the Saudi Geological Survey with the active support of Uppsala University,
Museum Victoria and Monash University have uncovered the first record of dinosaurs from Saudi Arabia.
What is now dry desert was once a beach littered with the bones and teeth of ancient marine reptiles and dinosaurs.
The researchers found teeth and bones dating from around 72 million years ago in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia along the coast of the Red Sea, according to the scientific journal PLOS ONE which published the finds jointly authored by participating researchers from Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Australia.
Two types of dinosaur were described from the assemblage, a bipedal meat-eating abelisaurid distantly related to Tyrannosaurus but only about six meters long, and a plant-eating titanosaur perhaps up to 20 meters in length.
“These are the first taxonomically recognizable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula,” Australian paleobiologist Benjamin Kear said in a statement.
“Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, with only a handful of highly fragmented bones documented this far,” he said.
“Dinosaur remains from the Arabian Peninsula and the area east of the Mediterranean Sea are exceedingly rare because sedimentary rocks deposited in streams and rivers during the Age of Dinosaurs are rare, particularly in Saudi Arabia itself,” said Dr. Tom Rich from Museum Victoria in Australia.
When these dinosaurs were alive, the Arabian landmass was largely underwater and formed the northwestern coastal margin of the African continent.
“The hardest fossil to find is the first one,” Dr. Rich said.
Saudi Gazette - Saudi Red Sea coast was once home to meat-eating dinosaurs
First dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia |World | News | Toronto Sun
Dinosaur bones discovered in Saudi Arabia for the 1st time - Technology & Science - CBC News
Interesting isn't? If I only could get the chance to participate in this study. It would be awesome.