The biggest and most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in Italy has been identified as part of a treasure trove of fossils of a herd of 11 dinosaurs.
Although isolated dinosaur remains have been discovered in Italy, the entire group at Villaggio del Pescatore has been identified.
The Tethyshadros insularis was a species that lived up to five metres in length and was fossilised 80 million years ago.
Italy is not known for dinosaurs and, although we had a few lucky strikes in the past, now we have a whole herd at one dinosaur site.
The discovery of a dinosaur skeleton named Antonio in 1996 made Villaggio del Pescatore known for dinosaurs. Antonio is thought to have been a young dinosaur who was part of the same herd that died together. Bruno is the largest fossilised remains among the group.
Fanti said that Bruno is the biggest and oldest of the group, and the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in Italy. After Antonio's discovery, nobody checked to see how many dinosaurs there were. We have bones from the same herd.
The site, which was part of the ancient Mediterranean area, contains the remains of fish, crocodiles, flying reptiles and even small shrimp.
Fanti said that it's cool that we can figure out the environment the dinosaurs lived and died in. The area was close to the shoreline and capable of feeding herds of dinosaurs.
Some of the fossils found at Villaggio del Pescatore are on display at the civic museum of natural history in Trieste, and experts hope to eventually open part of the site to the public.
There are footprints in the Italian Alps that are believed to be from a prehistoric reptile.
