An international team of researchers (from Uppsala University, Sweden; and Monash University and Museum Victoria, Australia) working with the support of the Saudi Geological Survey has recovered the first recognizable dinosaur fossils ever found in the Kingdom.
The find consists of two 72-million-year old teeth from a large two-legged predator, as well as seven vertebrae of a similar age belonging to a species of the giant four-legged dinosaurs known as sauropods.
While the dinosaurs found are already known to paleontologists, the discovery is nonetheless significant.
“It’s the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Benjamin Kear of Uppsala University in Sweden, who headed the study. Now that Saudi Arabian rock units hosting dinosaur remains have been identified, the discovery of additional and more complete dinosaur fossils is likely to follow.
A summary of the discovery can be found in a recent issue of the Arab News.
The team published their findings last month in the journal PLoS ONE.