Antarctic dinosaur bone identified as titanosaur vertebra after 40 years
A dinosaur bone discovered in Antarctica 40 years ago has been identified as a vertebra from a titanosaur, providing new insights into dinosaur distribution in the southern hemisphere.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A dinosaur bone discovered in Antarctica 40 years ago has finally been identified as a vertebra from a titanosaur, the largest creature ever to walk the Earth. The fossil, collected during an expedition in 1985, had been stored unnoticed in the British Antarctic Survey's geology store in Cambridge until paleontologist Mark Evans recognised its significance.
Dr Evans spotted the unassuming fossil while going through drawers of rocks and fossils. Its discovery had been recorded in a field notebook by paleontologist Mike Thompson, who noted it as "vertebrate of large reptile". But it took four decades for the bone to be identified as the first dinosaur bone ever found in Antarctica.
The vertebra belongs to a titanosaur, a group of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs that ranged in size from about 5 or 6 metres to giants up to 35 metres long and weighing 60 tonnes. The Antarctic specimen came from a much smaller animal, roughly 7 metres long, suggesting it was a young dinosaur or a dwarf species.
The fossil dates to the late Cretaceous period, around 80 million years ago, when Antarctica was covered in lush forest and provided ample food for herbivores. The discovery adds another piece to the puzzle of titanosaur distribution in the southern hemisphere.
Dr Evans said the vertebra had a distinctive shape, with a socket joint at one end and a ball at the other, a combination unique to these dinosaurs. "As soon as I saw it I knew that's what we were dealing with," he said. A full-scale cast of a titanosaur, on loan from the Natural History Museum, is on display at Peterborough Cathedral to help illustrate the scale of these ancient animals.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| A dinosaur vertebra from a titanosaur, collected in Antarctica in 1985, was identified 40 years later as the first dinosaur bone ever found on the continent. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focuses on the rediscovery of a long-overlooked fossil, emphasising the detective work and the historical significance of the first dinosaur bone found in Antarctica. The tone is informative and slightly celebratory, with a clear narrative of a mystery solved after 40 years. The segment includes a detailed explanation of the titanosaur's features and the ancient environment of Antarctica.
- “It's only when you start thinking what's in this drawer and sometimes you come across something and you think this looks interesting”
- “It's the first ever dinosaur bone to be found in Antarctica”
- “It belongs to one of these, a titanosaur the largest dinosaur ever to walk the earth”
Broadcast Timeline
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