Chinese paleontologists have identified a dinosaur bone fossil dating back 90 million years to the Cretaceous period. They believe this is a fossil of a newly recognized species named “Gandititan cavocaudatus.”
90 million-year-old dinosaur bone fossil discovered in China. (Photo: Xinhua).
Wang Lingyun, deputy director of the Jiangxi Geological Museum, reported that these bone fossils were found at a construction site in Ganxian District, Gan Zhou City, located in eastern Jiangxi Province, China, in June 2021. The museum, in collaboration with the China University of Geosciences (CUG) and the Jiangxi Geological Survey and Exploration Institute, began restoration and research work at the end of 2021.
Han Fenglu, the project leader at CUG, stated that the research results indicate that this fossil belongs to a newly recognized species of titanosauria sauropod, part of the giant Titanosauria dinosaur group. The total number of fossilized bones discovered represents about 40% of a dinosaur skeleton, a rare completeness ratio worldwide. Among the bones are six articulated cervical vertebrae; two incomplete dorsal vertebrae; and one complete sacral bone that retains connections with the first 17 tail vertebrae and the right pelvic bone.
According to Han, the well-preserved vertebrae allow researchers to accurately estimate the total body length at 14 meters—relatively small compared to other sauropod species.
The findings, published in the Journal of Paleontology this January, hold significant implications for the study of evolutionary processes and the geographical distribution of species during the Cretaceous period.
