In what is believed to be the first discovery of its kind in Malaysian history, a dinosaur fossil has been discovered in rural Pahang, and Universiti Malaya is going to present their findings today.
The fossil is thought to be of a “fish-eating” spinosauridae dinosaur, which roamed the Earth in the late Mesozoic era, in the Cretaceous period between 65 million and 145.5 million years ago.
The fossilised remains were identified by a team led by Associate Professor Dr Masatoshi Sone of Universiti Malaya’s geology deppartment, in collaboration with reptile paleontology expert Professor Ren Hirayama of Tokyo’s Waseda University.
The spinosauridae is a family of carnivorous dinosaurs characterised by its elongated, crocodile-like skulls and conical teeth with either tiny or no serrations.
In 2011, another spinosauridae fossil as discovered in Victoria, Australia. Prior to that find, it was thought that spinosauridae only existed in the northern hemisphere. The remains found in Australia was a 125-million year old neck vertebrae identical to that of a Baryonx.
Dr Masatoshi will be attending today’s press conference, along with Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, UM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin and the Science Faculty dean Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Sofian Azirun.
Source: The Star Online
