First dinosaur bone from Antarctica found in a drawer

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. First dinosaur bone from Antarctica found in a drawerImage source, Tony Jolliffe/ NewsImage caption, The fossil was originally found in 1985 on James Ross Island in AntarcticaByRebecca Morelle , Science Editor and Alison Francis, Senior Science JournalistPublished4 minutes agoAn unassuming-looking fossil that spent 40 years lying forgotten in a drawer has turned out to be the first dinosaur bone ever found in Antarctica. The specimen was unearthed in 1985, but the team that discovered it was not sure what it was - so it was stored away in the geology collection of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge. Now the fossil has been studied by palaeontologists who have confirmed that it is a tail bone from a type of dinosaur called a Titanosaur - this group contained the largest dinosaurs to ever walk the Earth.

The discovery helps to reveal more about how these beasts lived in a part of the world where the fossil record is sparse. Image source, Tony Jolliffe/ NewsImage caption, The discovery was recorded in geologist Mike Thomson's notebook Dr Mark Evans, the collections manager at BAS, recently spotted the fossil amongst thousands of specimens brought back from expeditions to Antarctica over the decades. "It's only when you start thinking 'what's in this drawer', that sometimes you come across something and you think, 'Ah, this looks interesting'," he said.

The Details

The specimen was originally collected on James Ross Island and its discovery was recorded in a field notebook kept by geologist Dr Mike Thomson. Alongside a tiny, neat sketch of the fossil dated 9 December 1985 he has written "vertebra of large reptile", noting it was about 10cm wide. Evans says the team that found it probably thought the fossil belonged to a marine reptile.

But as soon as he saw it, Evans realised the vertebra looked very dinosaur-like. And the date of its discovery meant it would have been the first dinosaur fossil found on the continent. Image source, Andrew McAfee/Carnegie Museum of Natural HistoryImage caption, When Titanosaurs inhabited Antarctica 80 million years ago it would have been covered in lush forestHe called in Prof Paul Barrett from the Natural History Museum (NHM) to confirm his discovery.

"Although it's not too much to look at, it actually has a really distinctive shape," Barrett told us, holding the fossil in his hands. He pointed to a hollow on one end of the fossil and then turned it over to reveal a rounded bump at the other. The vertebrae line up to create a series of ball-and-socket joints running from head to tail.

"As soon as I saw it, I knew what we were dealing with… it was a dead cert we were dealing with a Titanosaur," he said. "This is a combination of features that's completely unique to these types of dinosaurs. "Image source, Tony Jolliffe/ NewsImage caption, A Titanosaur cast, on loan from the NHM, is on display at Peterborough CathedralMore than 100 species of Titanosaur have now been identified around the world.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.