Antarctica’s first dinosaur bone confirmed after four decades in storage

• A fossil unearthed in Antarctica in 1985 has been confirmed as the first-ever dinosaur bone discovered on the continent.
• The fossil, a tail vertebra, belongs to a Titanosaur, a group of colossal, long-necked sauropods.
• Initially misidentified as a prehistoric reptile, the bone was stored for 40 years before modern analysis by Dr Mark Evans and Professor Paul Barrett confirmed its true nature. An analysis of the find has been published in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
• This Titanosaur is estimated to have roamed the region 82 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period, when Antartica was covered in lush forests.
• The discovery marks a significant milestone for palaeontology in Antarctica, a region where extreme conditions make fieldwork challenging.

IN FULL

First dinosaur bone from Antarctica was unnoticed for 40 years