Fossilized dinosaur tail vertebrae found at the site. Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau courtesy of Hualong Network - New Chongqing client issued
Hualong Network - New Chongqing client November 19, 14:10 news (chief reporter Wang Wei trainee reporter Xin Yiyuan) Chongqing has found dinosaur fossils in a double-wrangling! Recently, the reporter learned from the 208 geological team of the Chongqing Municipal Geological Survey Bureau that the "strange stone" of the suspected fossil found in Xingsheng Village, Guandu Town, Hechuan District, has been preliminarily determined to be Mamenxi Dragon, which was produced in the strata of the upper section of the Shaxi Temple Formation of the Middle Jurassic, about 165 million years ago.
Fossils of dinosaur ribs found at the scene. Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau courtesy of Hualong Network - New Chongqing Client Issued
It has been found that the caudal vertebrae, phalanges, dorsal ribs, etc. The preliminary judgment is that of Mamenxi dragon
At the site, about 10 posterior tail vertebrae have been found to have associated or jointly preserved sections, in addition to correlated metatarsals, phalanges, claw bones, as well as scattered preservation of the caudal arc and incomplete dorsal ribs.
"According to the form of the fossil bones and the location of the burial, it is initially speculated that the fossil points belong to a single body burial, that is, only one dinosaur is buried here, and the possibility of multiple burials is extremely small." Dai Hui, deputy chief engineer of the 208 Geological Team and president of the Institute of Geological Relics Conservation, said.
This fossil point (Guandu) is 18 km from the fossil point of the Oishi dinosaur and about 38 km from the Awakawa Taiwa fossil point (the Ōshi point is in the middle, and the distance between the 2 other fossil points is about 20 km). According to the morphological characteristics of skeletal fossils that have been found so far, it can be preliminarily judged that the type of Guandu dinosaur also belongs to the Mamenxi dragon class.
Dai Hui said that at present, only parts of the tail, soles and scattered back ribs have been found, and the limbs and the torso part of the back of the neck have not been found, "but we think that the possibility of finding them is still very large." ”
Dinosaur fossils found in Xingsheng Village, Guandu Town, Hechuan District. Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau courtesy of Hualong Network - New Chongqing Client Issued
Villagers collect herbs to find fossils The next step is to carry out excavation work
The discovery of this fossil stems from the fact that in August this year, a villager in Xingsheng Village, Guandu Town, Hechuan District, Chongqing City, accidentally found three suspected fossil "strange stones" while collecting herbs on the mountain, and then took the initiative to hand over the "strange stones". Subsequently, the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources immediately arranged for the Chongqing Geological Survey Institute to organize a professional team to conduct on-site verification, and after confirming that it belonged to the precious dinosaur fossils, it immediately entrusted the 208 Geological Team Geological Relics Protection Research Institute to carry out preliminary protection work on the fossil site.
According to reports, the dinosaur fossils in Guandu Town were produced in the strata of the upper section of the Middle Jurassic Shaxi Temple Formation, about 165 million years ago, and the Hechuan Mamenxi Dragon discovered in Taihe Town (1957) and the Mamenxi Dragon to be determined (2015) discovered in Dashi Town are in the same era, and they are all in the Mamenxi Dragon fauna stage.
From 1957 to the present, dinosaur fossils have been found in Taihe Town on the banks of the Fujiang River in Hechuan, Dashi Town on the banks of the Jialing River, and Guandu Town on the banks of the Fujiang River. The Hechuan Mamenxi Dragon in Taihe Town was the longest dinosaur in China and the largest in Asia at that time, and was known as the "Dragon of the East". The Hechuan Mamenxi dragon to be determined in Dashi Town is the largest dinosaur discovered in Chongqing. Today, dinosaur fossils have been found again in Guandu Town, and according to preliminary judgments, they belong to another large sauropod dinosaur.
It is understood that at this stage, only fossils are explored and protected, and fossils are preserved in situ. If more fossils are found in the next step, they will be reported to the Ministry of Natural Resources for formal excavation work.
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