In this photo provided by Peter J. Makovicky, a team of people are preparing to transport a dinosaur's body, which has been wrapped with plaster bandages to protect it. Makovicky via AP
The discovery of the fossils of a large duck-billed dinosaur in southern Missouri is exciting, but a paleontologist who helped lead the dig believes there are many more in the area.
The first fossils of a new species of dinosaur were found at the same site in the 80s but were not confirmed as a new species until the latest dig. The dinosaurs were thought to be around 35 feet in length. The remains of four species have been found in the same area.
A 2,500-pound chunk of remains was hoisted by a crane last month from the glen of a wooded area. The fossils will be sent to Chicago's Field Museum for further research.
The remains of many other dinosaurs will be found at the site, according to a University of Minnesota Paleontologist.
"We have a locality where a herd of dinosaurs are dying and being buried together, and individuals of different ages, and we have something that's probably a mass death locality," Makovicky said.
We can start to understand how these dinosaurs grew and what their herd structure was like. It's unique for a site east of the Great Plains. Most of the knowledge about the North American dinosaur comes from the west.
The first dinosaur fossils were found by a family in the early 1940s. The bones were put away for a long time because experts were not sure what kind of dinosaur it was.
The property was purchased by a paleontologist. A second set of dinosaur bones was found.
Guy Darrough is a fossil enthusiast and the curator of the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center. Permission was granted to start digging around. He found fossils about 10 years ago.
The discovery led to Makovicky and his team going to the site. Experts determined that the Missouri dinosaurs were part of their own species after the bones of the latest adult dinosaur were discovered. They were in the region 75 million to 90 million years ago.
The latest dig was a slow one, in part because of delays connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because the teams had to work cautiously in the wet clay of the Missouri site.
"It's a lot less power tools and a lot more clay sculpting tools you can get at an art store," Makovicky said.
The teams have found the remains of prehistoric fish, turtles, and crocodiles that may have been up to 15 meters long.
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The duck-billed dinosaur was retrieved from the Missouri site on November 30th, 2021.
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