While dinosaur fossils can be found all over the world, there are certain areas where finding these rare fossils can be very difficult. However, a team of paleontologists from Sweden may have found what could be the first dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia.
The team working on the Arabian dig site said it has unearthed a number of dinosaur fossils including teeth from a meat-eating theropod as well as vertebrae from a sauropod that bears some similarities to the well known Brontosaurus. According to scientist from the Uppsalla Univeristy, these are indeed the first documented dinosaur bones toe be found in the region. The team also published all of their findings at the Public Library of Science ONE online journal.
The fossils were unearthed at the northwestern section of Saudi Arabia in a section of desert. While the dig site is located in a desert area, the entire area was once part of a beach millions of years ago. Today, the coast has receded but the area in question is still located close to the Red Sea coast. Due to the fact that parts of the area may have been submerged in water millions of years ago. Many fossils, bones and teeth of prehistoric marine life were also found scattered across the vicinity.
Aside from the Swedish team working on the dig, scientists from Saudi Arabia and Australia are also carrying on excavations in the area with permission from the Saudi Geological Survey. Early tests indicate that the dinosaur fossils found by the team are around 72 million years old. While the recent finds made waves in the international scientific community, the teams still working on the site are hoping to dig up more fossils in the weeks to come.
The teeth unearthed by the team are said to belong to a fast moving, carnivorous theropod. On the other hand, the vertebrae the team found have been identified to be from the herbivorous titanosaur. Fossils from these specific dinosaurs have also been found in other parts of the world, such as South America and North Africa.
