Scientists Identify First Dinosaur Bone Found in Antarctica

Researchers have confirmed that a bone collected on James Ross Island in 1985 is the first dinosaur fossil ever found in Antarctica. The specimen is a tail vertebra from a titanosaur, a group of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs. It remained in storage at the British Antarctic Survey facility in Cambridge until scientists examined it again decades later.

The bone was gathered during a geological expedition to the island and initially recorded as belonging to a large reptile. It was placed in a drawer within the survey’s geology collection and stayed there until a later review. Comparison with more complete titanosaur skeletons allowed researchers to identify the fragment.

The study reporting the identification was published Monday in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

The titanosaur is estimated to have measured about 23 feet in length, a relatively small size for the group. Scientists said the animal may have died young and its remains could have drifted from shore before settling on the seafloor. Fossilization occurred in marine rock, preserving the bone despite the harsh Antarctic environment.

The continent once supported forests, providing habitat for dinosaurs during warmer periods. The identification adds to evidence that large plant-eating dinosaurs lived on what is now the southernmost continent.