Odd Chinese dinosaur

[Dinogeorge@aol.com]

Dan Chure sent me the following news item and asked me to forward it to the 
list.

Complete Fossilized Dinosaur Excavated in Northeast China
CNN online November 23 2000

SHENYANG, November 23 (Xinhua)-- A well-preserved 4.5-meter-long fossilized 
dinosaur skeleton was excavated recently in Yixian County in northeast
China's Liaoning Province.

It was the first time that an intact dinosaur fossil was discovered in western
Liaoning, a major fossil reserve of various ancient animals in the world.

The newly excavated "Liaoning Dinosaur" was supposed to live between 124 
million and 147 million years ago after a preliminary examination by Chinese 
paleontologists.

The cranium, teeth, scapula, vertebra, ribs, shank, coccyx [sic] and the claw 
of the
dinosaur skeleton were all preserved intact. The skull is 0.35 meters long and
2.5 meters wide [sic!]. The length between the neck vertebra and the pygal 
[sic] is 2.35 meters, and the tailbone [sic] is 1.8 meters long.

The trace of the large dinosaur fossil was first spotted by local residents 
in early
October in a small village in Yixian County. Experts were sent immediately to
excavate the site.

The cause of the dinosaur's death, its species and living habits are awaiting
further research, said Bo Haichen, curator of the Liaoning branch museum of 
China Geological Museum.

Most of the fossils excavated in western Liaoning may be traced back as early
as some 120 million years ago between the late Cretaceous Period and early
Jurassic Period.

The excavation of the stunning feathered dinosaur and the earliest flowering
plants in the world has turned the area into a treasure house of various 
fossils.

Experts believe that the discovery of the well-preserved dinosaur fossil will 
bring
new evidence to study the evolution of ancient animals.

Copyright XINHUA NEWS AGENCY