New Ampelosaurus skeleton

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org
For anybody who reads French, go to:
http://www.ladepeche.com/

Type in "dinosaure" in the Recherche box on the left of 
the screen and click "OK" button. You'll get a set of 
articles about the find--the last one on the list "Un 
dinosaure nommé Eva" (dated July 7) being the most 
comprehensive.

Summarizing from a variety of French sources, here's the 
basic info in English:

The new Ampelosaurus specimen, nicknamed "Eva," is the 
most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in France and 
was discovered at Campagne-sur-Aude, close to the Museum 
of Dinosaurs in Esperanza, in deposists around 72 million 
years old. Jean Le Loeuff is in charge of the dig. So far 
only part of the skull, lower jaw and some of the skeleton 
have been removed, but the dig-team hopes to remove all 
the bones by the end of the summer in September. The 
specimen was discovered in August last year by Eva Morvan, 
a young geology student from Rennes in Britanny (source of 
the nickname "Eva"). The animal is estimated be around 12 
meters long, 2.5 meters tall and weighing 10-15 metric 
tons, and appears to be juvenile or subadult--some adult 
bones found in the area are about twice as large. There 
are hopes that some of the armor can be recovered in 
place, indicating their position on the living animal.  
The find has turned into a major media event in France.