Hong Kong discovers dinosaur fossils for the first time

[October 24, 2024]  By KANIS LEUNG

HONG KONG (AP) — Officials in Hong Kong said Wednesday they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time on a remote, uninhabited island that's part of a geopark.

Experts have initially confirmed the fossils were part of a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, about 145 million to 66 million years ago, the government said in a statement. They will need to conduct further studies to confirm the species of the dinosaur.  

This undated handout photo shows Zhang Pengjie, an expert from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as he cleans and prepares a rock containing dinosaur bone fossil, and clears the rock covering the fossil discovered in Hong Kong's Port Island. (provided by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office)

Experts speculate that the dinosaur was likely buried by sand and gravel after its death before it was later washed to the surface by a large flood, and subsequently buried again at the discovery site, it said.

The government said the conservation department in March informed its Antiquities and Monuments Office about a sedimentary rock containing substances suspected to be vertebrate fossils. The rock was found on Port Island in the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark in the city's northeastern waters.

The government said it commissioned mainland Chinese experts to conduct field investigations.

Port Island is closed to the public from Wednesday until further notice to facilitate future investigations and excavations.

The fossils will be on display at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of the city's popular shopping districts, starting on Friday. The government is also planning to open a temporary workshop for the public to observe experts' preparation of fossil specimens by the end of 2024.

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