>>The excavation team wasn’t disappointed. In 1984, they hauled out the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in New South Wales. The bones, which were encrusted with sparkling opal, were taken back to the Australian Museum for public display. Two decades later, Foster took the fossils back and donated them to the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge.<<
>>
“The discovery of dinosaur groups unique to the southern hemisphere suggests that our current understanding of dinosaur evolution is incomplete,” says Ralph Molnar, a paleontologist at Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. “Australian dinosaurs are globally important, and as more discoveries are made, they will play an increasingly significant role in our understanding of that time.”<<

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur-bones-encrusted-opal-reveal-new-species-australia-180972332/

PermeateFree said:

>>The excavation team wasn’t disappointed. In 1984, they hauled out the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in New South Wales. The bones, which were encrusted with sparkling opal, were taken back to the Australian Museum for public display. Two decades later, Foster took the fossils back and donated them to the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge.<<
>>
“The discovery of dinosaur groups unique to the southern hemisphere suggests that our current understanding of dinosaur evolution is incomplete,” says Ralph Molnar, a paleontologist at Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. “Australian dinosaurs are globally important, and as more discoveries are made, they will play an increasingly significant role in our understanding of that time.”<<

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur-bones-encrusted-opal-reveal-new-species-australia-180972332/

> There were around 60 odd bones in the entire collection, which is a remarkable number for an Australian dinosaur.

This is, unfortunately, true.

Great find, a cousin of muttaburrasaurus.

> With Antarctica blanketed in ice and most of the New Zealand continent underwater, sites like Lightning Ridge are key to unravelling the southern hemisphere’s ancient past.

That’s an idea. I wonder if anyone has tried searching for dinosaur bones undersea. Could it be done?

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

>>The excavation team wasn’t disappointed. In 1984, they hauled out the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in New South Wales. The bones, which were encrusted with sparkling opal, were taken back to the Australian Museum for public display. Two decades later, Foster took the fossils back and donated them to the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge.<<
>>
“The discovery of dinosaur groups unique to the southern hemisphere suggests that our current understanding of dinosaur evolution is incomplete,” says Ralph Molnar, a paleontologist at Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. “Australian dinosaurs are globally important, and as more discoveries are made, they will play an increasingly significant role in our understanding of that time.”<<

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur-bones-encrusted-opal-reveal-new-species-australia-180972332/

> There were around 60 odd bones in the entire collection, which is a remarkable number for an Australian dinosaur.

This is, unfortunately, true.

Great find, a cousin of muttaburrasaurus.

Why is it unfortunate?

mollwollfumble said:

> With Antarctica blanketed in ice and most of the New Zealand continent underwater, sites like Lightning Ridge are key to unravelling the southern hemisphere’s ancient past.

That’s an idea. I wonder if anyone has tried searching for dinosaur bones undersea. Could it be done?

It’s hard enough finding opal, let alone finding opalised dinosaurs.

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

>>The excavation team wasn’t disappointed. In 1984, they hauled out the most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in New South Wales. The bones, which were encrusted with sparkling opal, were taken back to the Australian Museum for public display. Two decades later, Foster took the fossils back and donated them to the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge.<<
>>
“The discovery of dinosaur groups unique to the southern hemisphere suggests that our current understanding of dinosaur evolution is incomplete,” says Ralph Molnar, a paleontologist at Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. “Australian dinosaurs are globally important, and as more discoveries are made, they will play an increasingly significant role in our understanding of that time.”<<

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dinosaur-bones-encrusted-opal-reveal-new-species-australia-180972332/

> There were around 60 odd bones in the entire collection, which is a remarkable number for an Australian dinosaur.

This is, unfortunately, true.

Great find, a cousin of muttaburrasaurus.

Why is it unfortunate?

Overseas, virtually anywhere overseas, finding 60 dinosaur bones together from a group of dinosaurs would be common. Not in Australia. We want more dinosaurs.

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

> There were around 60 odd bones in the entire collection, which is a remarkable number for an Australian dinosaur.

This is, unfortunately, true.

Great find, a cousin of muttaburrasaurus.

Why is it unfortunate?

Overseas, virtually anywhere overseas, finding 60 dinosaur bones together from a group of dinosaurs would be common. Not in Australia. We want more dinosaurs.

We can only have what we have got.
Should we have looked more carefully?

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

Why is it unfortunate?

Overseas, virtually anywhere overseas, finding 60 dinosaur bones together from a group of dinosaurs would be common. Not in Australia. We want more dinosaurs.

We can only have what we have got.
Should we have looked more carefully?

We used to smash them up