Denver dinosaur fossil found at museum car park
The bone was found in a hole drilled more than 750ft (230 meters) into the ground, but the hole was only a couple of inches wide.Museum officials struggled to say just how unlikely it was to hit a fossil in this way, even in an area where a number of fossils have been found before.They say that only two have been found in this way anywhere in the world before, let alone on the grounds of a dinosaur museum!Thomas Williamson, an expert from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science in Albuquerque, says the way it was found is certainly surprising, but "scientifically it's not that exciting".
Thomas Williamson also said there is no way to tell exactly what species of dinosaur it was.However those at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science believe the bone is the vertebra of a plant-eating dinosaur that would have been quite small.They say it lived in the late Cretaceous period around 67.5 million years ago.The fossil is now on display in the museum, but there are no further plans to look for more under the car park.James Hagadorn said he'd love to have a look for the rest of the dinosaur, but he can't see that happening as they "really need parking".
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