They’ve been looking for this for a hundred years. They finally found it

Hong Kong was leased by Great Britain years ago. Today it is part of the People’s Republic of China. But the city also has traces in history that go back much further – one of them are the Cretaceous and Jurassic geological layers, which hide many secrets. One of them has just seen the light of day. Interestingly, Hong Kong researchers have been looking for this for a hundred years. This is the first dinosaur fossil found in this city.

Scientists ‘have long expected’

The specimen found is believed to date back to the Cretaceous period, approximately 145 million to 66 million years ago. The exact species is to be identified after detailed research. The bones themselves that were eventually found were scattered, fragmented and weathered. Researchers found them in a geopark on Port Island, which is located north-east of the city from which the entire Special Administrative Region takes its name. Previously, many plant and animal fossils were found in the Hong Kong area. As NBC News points out, these include specimens of ostracoids and ammonites from approximately 400 to 190 million years ago. It’s hard to believe that this is only the first discovery of dinosaur remains.

According to local researchers, the discovered specimen could have been buried in sand and gravel after death. However, it was later exposed to the surface by floods and then reburied at the site of its discovery. Michael Pittman, an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was quoted by NBC is “very excited” about the groundbreaking discovery that scientists have “been expecting for a long time.” He also added that searching for such traces of history is not easy. First of all, we need an appropriate environment that would help preserve them.

Interestingly, Hong Kong was a place where for years researchers had been analyzing dinosaur traces found elsewhere. Now scientists are hungry for more, especially since there are many indications that there are still at least a few things waiting to be discovered. By comparison, four types of dinosaur fossils and more than 30,000 dinosaur egg fossils have been discovered in nearby China’s Guangdong province. Interestingly, the Hong Kong specimens come from a geological layer similar to the Guangdong discovery sites, suggesting they may come from a similar time and environment.

The discovered dinosaur fossils will be on public display at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center from Friday. The Port Island discovery site has been completely closed to facilitate future investigations, excavations and research.