Dinosaur discovery on Portugal’s coast unearths ancient giant
In Portugal, a dinosaur skeleton over 190 million years old was discovered. It is one of the oldest finds of its kind in the country.
What do you need to know?
- Where was the skeleton discovered? The find took place at Agua de Madeiros beach in the municipality of Marinha Grande, on Portugal's western coast.
- What challenges did scientists face? Extracting the fossil from marl, a sedimentary rock, was a logistical challenge due to the weight of the rock block being 1.3 metric tonnes (approximately 1.4 tons).
- What’s next for the discovery? Paleontologists from the Lourinha Museum are working on identifying the dinosaur species.
The over 190-million-year-old fossilized dinosaur skeleton—one of the oldest in Portugal—was discovered at Agua de Madeiros beach. Extracting the fossil was complicated because it was embedded in marl, a sedimentary rock composed of calcium.
They discovered a dinosaur skeleton from 190 million years ago
The excavation was conducted by a team of paleontologists from the Lourinha Museum in collaboration with municipal services. The work was carried out in haste to prevent damage to the fossil from ocean waves or low temperatures. Joao Brito from the town hall in Marinha Grande emphasized that transporting the rock block, weighing approximately 1.4 tons, to the Lourinha Museum posed a significant logistical challenge.
Currently, paleontologists are trying to identify the dinosaur species.
Twenty-five years ago, a fossilized skeleton of another dinosaur, which lived about 195 million years ago, was discovered near Marinha Grande. It was the oldest Plesiosaurus specimen on the Iberian Peninsula, an order of extinct marine reptiles. This shows that the region is rich in prehistoric finds.
