Dinosaur fossils believed to date back at least 66 million years have been discovered for the first time in Hong Kong, on a remote island in the northeast of the city.
The fossils are believed to have belonged either to a Sauropod, a long-necked dinosaur that walked on four legs, or an Ornithischian – mainly herbivorous dinosaurs that walked on two legs with a pelvic structure similar to birds.
Further studies will have to be conducted to confirm the species, the Development Bureau said in a Thursday statement.
The fossils, discovered on Port Island in the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark, will be on public display at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre from Friday onwards.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office will hold a talk at the centre on Thursday, after which participants will have the chance to preview the fossils.
Landmark find
The fossils were discovered between June and August during a field investigation by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department told the antiquities office in March that it had found sedimentary rock containing suspected vertebrate fossils.
Experts from the academy in mainland China have initially confirmed that the fossils belonged to a large, full-grown dinosaur dating back to the Cretaceous period about 145 million to 66 million years ago.
Experts have theorised that the dinosaur was buried under sand and sediment where it died, was washed away by floodwater, and then buried again on Port Island.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said the discovery was of “great importance” and “provides new evidence for research on palaeoecology in Hong Kong.”
As the government announced the fossil finds on Wednesday, the bureau and the mainland institute also signed an agreement to bolster palaeontology research, with the Port Island finds being the inaugural project.
To protect further investigations on Port Island, it has been closed to the public until further notice. Trespassers are liable to a maximum fine of HK$2,000 and three months’ imprisonment.
