Scientists Discover 240-Million-Year-Old \"Chinese Dragon\" Fossil in Scotland

Published: 23 February 2024 at 12:46

Science

Scientists in Scotland have found a 16-feet-long fossil of a Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, a marine reptile from the Triassic period with an extremely long neck, resembling a \"Chinese dragon\". The fossil, found in Guizhou Province, China, by an international team, reveals flipper-like limbs and a neck longer than its body and tail combined. Researchers studied the fossil for ten years, identifying it as a unique reptile well adapted to an oceanic lifestyle, similar in size to Tanystropheus hydroides.