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| Chinanews, Zhengzhou, July 4 – Archeologists recently discovered two groups of dinosaur fossils in Henan Province. The fossils are believed to be the bones of the two dinosaur groups, Zhongyuan dinosaur group and Luanchuan dinosaur group. The fossils unearthed belong to more than ten different kinds of dinosaurs, which are thought to be the subbranches of the two dinosaur groups. All these subbranches are believed to be newly discovered.
The Zhongyuan dinosaur fossils were discovered between the Santun and Liudian villages in Ruyang County. For a long time, local residents had collected these fossils from red clay, believing that they were the “dragon bones” and were ideal ingredients for making herbal medicines. Now archeologists realize that these “dragon bones” are actually the bones of dinosaurs and the red clay belonged to the Cretaceous Period dating back 100-85 million years ago.
In Ruyang County, scientists found over 30 spots that contained dinosaur bones. In five of these places, scientists found fossils that were deemed to be the two new subbranches: the Luanchuan giant dinosaur and Zhongyuan dinosaur. The two dinosaurs lived in the early times of the late Cretaceous Period. Meanwhile, the fossils of other dinosaur species and carnivores are being excavated and studied. So far, scientists presume that at least six different dinosaur species once existed in the region.
The Luanchuan dinosaur group was discovered in Luanchuan, Luoyang city. Scientists once found some dinosaur fossils in Luanchuan in the 1970s. At that time, the discovery did not gain much attention. This time, scientists unearthed dinosaur fossils in over 20 spots in this region. These spots altogether cover a total area of 10 square kilometers. These dinosaurs fossils belong to different types, including dromaeosaur, oviraptor, and troodontids. The dromaeosaur is named Luanchuan Daolong. So far, it can be confirmed that there were at least six different dinosaur species existing in Luanchuan.
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