A man found a 70 million-year-old dinosaur fossil while walking his dog, but he and local archaeologists kept it secret for two years because they feared vandals would damage the find.
Damien Bocheteau, 25, reported the discovery nearly two years ago in Montolier, Hérault, France. Interested in trade Based on an article published by Newsweek.
Bochetto informed the Cultural, Archaeological and Paleontological Society of the nearby town of Croze of this discovery. The team concluded that the fossil was an almost complete fossilized titanosaur measuring 10 meters long.
While paleontologists routinely excavate the bones of animals that lived millions of years ago, it is extremely rare to find a completely intact fossilized skeleton of a dinosaur.
For example, according to one study, there were 1.7 billion Tyrannosaurus rex, which are believed to have lived 66-68 million years ago, but scientists have found fossil remains of less than 100 such animals.
Titanosaurs are a subgroup of sauropods that were herbivores with very long necks. These huge herbivores are among the largest known dinosaurs, and they lived on all continents about 150 to 66 million years ago.
The researchers discovered that the titanosaur fossil discovered by Bochetto is approximately 70 percent complete.
“While walking the dog, there was a landslide that brought pieces of different skeletons to the surface,” Bochetto said, adding, “But after a few days of digging, we realized that they were connected bones.”
Bochetto and the researchers kept the discovery secret for two years to protect the site from vandals.
When researchers finish studying the bones, Bochetto's titanosaur will be on display at the museum in Croze, which also houses the femur of another titanosaur discovered in 2012.
Bochetto told The Washington Post that he is passionate about paleontology. Croze Museum director Francis Vajes told the newspaper that Bochetto's volunteer work at the museum over the past two years has been valuable to the paleontology department.
“These discoveries are of scientific interest because they contribute to the understanding of species and ecosystems in the Late Cretaceous in France and Europe,” Fages told the newspaper.
Bochetto left his job in the energy sector last September to obtain a master's degree in paleontology.
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