14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers at the University of Manchester in England claim to have discovered the absolute oldest sauropod dinosaur ever to roam the UK.
The ancient creature, identified based on just one fossilized bone that was discovered not far from the town of Whitby in Yorkshire when it simply fell off the face of a cliff, is said to have lived about 176 million years back, during the Middle Jurassic Period.
In a report in the science journal PLOS ONE, paleontologists argue that, together with the dinosaur tracks discovered over the years in this part of the country, the fossilized sauropod bone hints that, eons ago, Yorkshire was a Jurassic World of sorts.
The 176-million-year-old sauropod bone, shown in the photo below, will be on display at the Yorkshire Museum starting this June 8.
At least for now, it's impossible to name its species
The bone fragment that paleontologists say belongs to the absolute oldest sauropod dinosaur thus far documented on the territory of present-day UK is a vertebra.
Scientists say that, although the vertebra is well-preserved enough to make it possible to identify the animal as a sauropod, it takes more than just this skeletal bit to name its species.
Even so, the creature's looks and behavior aren't entirely an enigma. Like all other sauropods, it must have been a herbivore. Besides, the fact that it was a sauropod means that it had a large body complete with a freakishly long tail and neck.
Just to put things into perspective and give you some figures, fossilized evidence shows that a genus of sauropods known as Argentinosaurus could grow to measure 115 feet (35 meters) in length and weight an astounding 80 tons.
As for the newly discovered dinosaur's head, chances are that, when compared to the rest of the dinosaur's anatomy, it would have seemed peculiarly small, even out of place.
Paleontologists at the University of Manchester plan to go in search of other fossils belonging to the same 176-million-year-old dinosaur, which they nicknamed Alan, and maybe even attempt a reconstruction, should they find enough of them.
