95-million-year old dinosaur fossils found in Mexico

Mexico City, March 17: Dinosaur fossils aged between 70-95 million years were discovered in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, the media reported on Thursday.

According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), 17 different areas with fossils were found scattered across the municipalities of Ojinaga, Coyame del Sotol and Aldama, EFE news reported.

They could determine the limits of the sea during the Cretaceous period, which was between 65 and 145 million years ago, in this region of the planet.

INAH said in a statement that "most fossils are marine invertebrate animals: various species of shells, snails and ammonites".

In Aldama, fragments of the feet of a hadrosaurid, or duck-billed dinosaur and petrified wood were found.

Both are of the same age as the marine specimens. It is most likely that the wood and bone remains of the hadrosaurid belong to a paleoenvironment of a beach or delta, the institute pointed out.

"The findings are the result of recent archaeological survey work carried out by INAH in the region due to the construction of a gas pipeline," the director of the Chihuahua INAH Centre Jorge Carrera said.

The institute's specialists registered all the materials found and will continue the investigation to verify "whether the evidence are from a paleontological site or only isolated surface finds".

IANS