A rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica, hidden in a drawer for decades, has been identified as a tail bone from a titanosaur, a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur. The discovery, published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica on Monday, sheds light on the continent's ancient, forested past.
Discovery and Identification
The fossil was collected in 1985 during an expedition to Antarctica's James Ross Island by geologist Mike Thomson of the British Antarctic Survey. Thomson, who was mapping rock layers, originally recorded the find as a large reptile. Decades later, paleontologist Mark Evans spotted the bone in the British Antarctic Survey's collections and suspected it might be a dinosaur. Along with co-author Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum in London, Evans analyzed the bone's shape and compared it to other dinosaur remains, confirming it belonged to a titanosaur.
Significance of the Find
Dinosaur fossils are extremely rare in Antarctica due to its ice caps, but millions of years ago the region was covered in lush forests. “It was a rather different and much more hospitable place than we think of today,” said Barrett. The dinosaur, estimated at about 23 feet (7 meters) long, was small for a titanosaur and may have been young when it died. Scientists believe its body floated from the coast and sank to the sea floor, where it fossilized in marine rock.
Technological Advances and Legacy
Modern technology now allows researchers to peer inside bones for detailed information, a capability unavailable when the fossil was first found. Thomson, who died in 2020, never knew the bone was from a dinosaur. “If he were still with us, he would be delighted to know what this was,” said Evans. The species has not yet been identified, but the find highlights the importance of museum collections in uncovering hidden fossils.
