Scientists have discovered the first paleontological site in Italy with a large accumulation of complete skeletons of dinosaurs.

For a long time, paleontologists believed that the modern Mediterranean in ancient times was unsuitable for dinosaurs, since scientists did not find complete skeletons of ancient animals.

In addition, the researchers hypothesized that due to the characteristic landscape of the Mediterranean, only a small population of dwarf dinosaurs existed in the region.

However, paleontologists discovered the first large burial of dinosaur remains in the history of Italy near Trieste, in the northeast of the country, which was named Villaggio del Pescatore. The main difference between this burial and previous finds is that the territory contains a large number of complete skeletons dating back 230-66 million years ago.

The fossils found belong to the species Tetisadros isolus. So far, paleontologists have found at least seven individuals of different ages.

The find discredited the previous hypotheses of Italian scientists: earlier paleontologists believed that the modern territory, where Trieste is located, in ancient times was a small island in the proto-Mediterranean ocean Tethys. Experts believed that the so-called dwarf dinosaurs lived on this territory due to the evolutionary miniaturization of island animal populations.

In addition, the ideal preservation of the fossils made it possible for specialists to determine the exact age of the dinosaurs that once lived in Italy - about 80 million years.

It turned out that dinosaurs are contemporaries of the Cretaceous period. This discovery changed the pattern of animal migration followed by scientists. According to new data, 80 million years ago, the territory of northeastern Italy was the coast of a huge proto-Mediterranean ocean, connected to Western Europe and Asia.

Thus, modern Italy at that time served as a corridor for the overland migration of various animal species, including dinosaurs.

bbabo.Net