New
Excavations of
Dinosaurs in
China
26 August
2006
At
3 o’clock this afternoon (East China
Time), a joined team consisted of the
archaeologists from China, America,
Canada, Mexico and Briton began
excavating two dinosaur fossil sites in
the country's northwest region.
Site
One:
The
site is near the famous "Dinosaur
Valley" in Xingjiang Autonomous
region, and the fossil is believed to
belong to a diplodocus, the most gigantic
kind among the plant-eating dinosaurs. It
is said that they are the largest animals
that have ever lived on earth, and ruled
the world during the late Jurassic and
early Cretaceous periods some 150 million
years ago. According to the
archaeologists on the excavation site the
one buried there could be the biggest
diplodocus fossil ever found in Asia.
Other major
discoveries of the dinosaur fossils
in and around the Dinosaur Valley:
1928,
lystrosaurus fossil was
unearthed.
1987, Asia's
largest dinosaur fossil
"mamenchisaurus
sinocanadorum" was
discovered.
2002, the
earliest tyrannosaur fossil
in this area was found.
Site
Two:
It
is situated in a barren terrain in
Ningxia Autonomous region. And its
discovery has to be credited to one man’s
stubborn faith in his own perception.
In
April 2004, Mr Ma Yun was out to look for
hedgehogs to make a special medicine for
his friend who was ill. When he entered a
secluded area he spotted a big stone
resembling a limb. Mr Ma suspected it
could be an animal fossil and returned
with his friends and neighbours to have
another look. They saw the blonder, and a
blonder that had no difference to other
blonders. So they advised him to contact
a proper doctor. But he was a stubborn
man, convinced he had perfect eyesight,
and brain.
A
half year had passed and he was still
troubled with that stone, so eventually
he contacted the conservation
authorities. After initial examinations,
the archaeologists conclude that Mr Ma
did not just spot an animal fossil, but
has discovered a dinosaur’s fossil. And
it is not even any other dinosaurs, but a
new species that was never known to man
before.
And
that is how one man’s perseverance sees
his name going down in history.
Now
the authorities are planning to invite
the general public to name the new
dinosaur spices.
The locatoin of
Xinjiang (Site 1) highlighted in red
colour,
and the location of Ninxia (Site 2)
highlighted in blue colour
China
stories are told at wenhousecrafts.com
Similar
Stories:
All
Articles
|
