Archeologists have discovered the preserved fossil of a dinosaur that may have been killed on the day when a giant asteroid crashed into Earth some 66 million years ago.
What Happened: The discovery is a leg, complete with skin, that belongs to a Thescelosaurus, and it was unearthed at the Tanis fossil site in North Dakota.
According to the BBC, which had exclusive access to the Tanis site, scientists at the site also found the remains of fish with particles of molten rock that might have come from the asteroid, along with a fossilized turtle, remains of small mammals, a pterosaur embryo still within its egg and what might be a fragment from the asteroid.
"We've got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it's almost like watching it play out in the movies. You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day," said Robert DePalma, a graduate student from the University of Manchester in the U.K., who has been leading the Tanis excavation.
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What Might Have Happened: Most scientists accept the theory that the dinosaurs were fast-tracked into extinction when an asteroid with a 7.45-mile width crashed into the planet. While the asteroid’s impact site is believed to be off the Yucatan Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico, its fatal resonance was felt across the Earth.
Prof. Paul Barrett from London's Natural History Museum examined the leg and theorized the force of the asteroid resulted in the dinosaur’s body being torn asunder — even though it was thousands of miles away from the impact site.
“This looks like an animal whose leg has simply been ripped off really quickly,” said Barrett. “There's no evidence on the leg of disease, there are no obvious pathologies, there's no trace of the leg being scavenged, such as bite marks or bits of it that are missing So, the best idea that we have is that this is an animal that died more or less instantaneously.”
A documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough on the discovery and the wider Tanis site will be broadcast on BBC One in the U.K. on April 15, with a U.S. broadcast on the PBS series “Nova” planned for later this year.
Photo: Artist rendering of Thescelosaurus, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
