First Aquatic Dinosaur Fossils Discovered from Saudi Arabia

Dinosaur fossils can be found across the world, yet in some places they can be extremely rare. Now, archaeologists have uncovered the first fossils of dinosaurs from Saudi Arabia. The findings reveal a bit more about the ancient region, showing that it once played home to a beach rather than a dry desert.

The new findings include a string of vertebrae from the tail of a huge "Brontosaurus-like" sauropod along with some shed teeth from a carnivorous theropod. These fossils actually represent the first formally identified dinosaur fossils from Saudi Arabia.

"Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula, with only a handful of highly fragmented bones documented thus far," said Benjamin Kear, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This discovery is important not only because of where the remains were found, but also because of the fact that we can actually identify them. Indeed, these are the first taxonomically recognizable dinosaurs reported from the Arabian Peninsula."

During the time of the dinosaurs, the Arabian landmass was largely underwater. Forming the northwestern coastal margin of the African continent, this area played home to marine species. In fact, the two species discovered in this location have similar counterparts in North Africa, Madagascar and as far away as South America.

"Dinosaur remains from the Arabian Peninsula and the area east of the Mediterranean Sea are exceedingly rare because sedimentary rocks deposited in streams and rivers during the Age of Dinosaurs are rare, particularly in Saudi Arabia itself," said Tom Rich, one of the researchers, in a news release.

Although these fossils are rare, though, the archaeologists are hopeful for future discoveries at this location. They believe that these remains could be the first among many.

"The hardest fossil to find is the first one," said Rich in a news release. "Knowing that they occur in a particular area and the circumstances under which they do makes finding more fossils significantly less difficult."

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.