Dinosaur-Fossils At 71 Million Years Old, Discovered During Antarctic Expedition

An international expedition team in Antarctica has reportedly found more than a ton of dinosaur fossils, estimated to be approximately 71 million years old. The fossils of various marine reptile remains and birds, including prehistoric ducks from the Cretaceous period's end, were also discovered alongside the dinosaur ones.  

"We found things like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs - a type of marine lizard made famous by the recent film Jurassic World," said Dr Steve Salisbury from the University of Queensland. "We found a lot of really great fossils. They were all shallow marine rocks, so the majority of things we found lived in the ocean."

The team of scientists working on the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project comprises of members from South Africa, Australia and US. The group travelled to the James Ross Island area on the Antarctic Peninsula gain more insight into the white continent's dinosaurs. The specific area was chosen for the mission because it is one of the few regions in Antarctica where rocks, which belonged to the time of the dinosaurs, are exposed during summer. The group of researchers used inflatable boats and helicopters to aid their mission, apart from enduring an extremely grueling time that comprised of extreme temperatures, seasickness and other challenges related to reaching the Antarctic Peninsula.

The scientists camped for a period of almost five weeks between February and March on the Vega Island, a heavily glaciated area. The group also had to go through the arduous task of hiking nearly 10 kilometers every day through a mountainous region to reach Sandwich Bluff, the main field site.  At the moment, the newly discovered fossils are in Chile from where they will be taken to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for further analysis, the result of which can be out only after a year or two because it will take time and preparation to study the bigger bones.