German scientists have unearthed the biggest collection of dinosaur fossils ever found in the country, including bones that could belong to previously unknown species, researchers said Wednesday.
“This is the largest discovery of its kind in Germany -- you could call it a dinosaur graveyard,” said Klaus-Peter Lanser of the Museum of Natural History in Muenster, western Germany, which put the fossils on show this week.
Scientists think the 130 million year-old fragments of bones and teeth come from six different species that could be related to the predatory carnivores Velociraptor and Deinonychus, as well as from prehistoric crocodiles and tortoises.
“Dinosaur remains have been found before in Germany but this find is unique because of the variety of dinosaur species to have left traces in the same place,” said Franck Tafertshufer, a local authority spokesman in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which supported the dig.
Staff at the Muenster museum found the fossils during a two-year excavation of a 16-ft deep trench that Lanser believes was a prehistoric watering hole.
