Scientists in Russian coal mining countryside in the Kuzbass region of Siberia have uncovered a bone fragment belonging to a giant sauropod – a large herbivorous dinosaur whose best known genera include the Brachiosaurus, the Brontosaurus, the Diplodocus and the Apatosaurus.
Kemerovo Region governor Sergei Tsivilyov reported the find on his Telegram page, posting photos of the fragment, which measures over 40 cm long, and is believed to the girdle of the front limbs. The fragment was uncovered at the Shestakovskoye Dinosaur Graveyard – the largest dinosaur dig site in Russia, which has a number of locations across Kemerovo Region and where many unique dino bones and even eggs have been unearthed over the decades. The graveyard is situated along the Lower Cretaceous Ilek Formation.
Bone fragment of sauropod dinosaur found in Russia's Kemerovo region.
© Photo : Telegram / @tsivilev_live
"This is - without exaggeration - a sensation," Tsivilyov wrote in his post. "I will remind you that Shestakovo is the only territory in Russia where paleontological excavations of dinosaurs that lived 120-140 million years ago are conducted on a regular basis with the support of regional authorities. At the moment we're simultaneously drilling through the bone layer, which should allow scientists to make many more amazing discoveries related to the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era."
Scientists believe this particular sauropod's bones fell into a stream of water, with its bones dispersed along the riverbed, hence the absence of a more complete skeleton. A search for additional fragments is expected.
Before removing the bone fragment from the dig site, a special bonding solution will be applied to it to prevent disintegration. From there, it will be taken to a laboratory for further analysis and dissection.
The last large sauropod to be discovered in Kemerovo was found in 2017. The subspecies, appropriately named the Siberotitan, could be classified thanks the discovery of teeth, vertebrae and a sacrum. It was also found in Shestakovo. That animal was estimated to weigh 10 tons, and measure 12 meters long from head to tail, and to have roamed across Siberia about 120 million years ago.
Model of a Sibirotitan astrosacralis.
© Wikipedia / Yaroslav Mesheryakov, Andrei Atuchin, Ekaterina and Vladimir Trush
A systematic search for and categorization of dinosaur bones in Russia did not begin until the 1930s, with a number of factors – including the fact that over a third of modern Russia's land areas were underwater at the time, vast forest coverage and a lack of specialists making things difficult. The science grew with time, and archeologists have been able to uncover many specimens, including new subspecies unique to Russia. The Kulindadromeus, discovered in Kulinda, Trans-Baikal Territory, can even be found in the coat of arms of the region’s Chernyshevsky District, while the Psittacosaurus can be seen on the coat of arms of Kemerovo Region’s Chebulinsky District. Dinosaur remains have also been found in, Krasnoyarsk, Amur, Yakutiya, Buryatia, Ulyanovsk, Crimea, and Sakhalin Island.