Hold onto your explorer hats, because Hong Kong just got a whole lot more Jurassic! 🦕 For the very first time, dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and they're shaking up everything we thought we knew about the city's ancient past.
The groundbreaking discovery was made on Port Island, a hidden gem in the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark located in the northeastern waters. Back in March, whispers about possible vertebrate fossils in the island's sedimentary rock reached the ears of the Antiquities and Monuments Office. Cue the excitement!
Experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences were called in to get to the bottom of the mystery. Their mission? Investigate the site, study the fossils, and figure out just how old these ancient creatures might be.
And get this—they confirmed that the fossils date back to the Cretaceous period, which means these dino buddies roamed the area between 145 million and 66 million years ago! Talk about a blast from the past. 🌋
Bernadette Linn, secretary for development of the HKSAR government, couldn't contain her excitement: \"This discovery is of great significance and provides new evidence for research on paleoecology in Hong Kong,\" she said.
This isn't just a one-off event, either. The research on these dinosaur fossils marks the first collaborative project under a brand-new agreement between Hong Kong and the mainland. On Wednesday, the Development Bureau of the HKSAR government and the IVPP signed a Framework Agreement to deepen exchange and collaboration in fields like stratigraphy, paleontology, and prehistoric sites.
So what does this mean for you? Well, besides the fact that we might just have a new favorite spot for a prehistoric selfie, it shows that Hong Kong is full of surprises waiting to be uncovered. Who knows what other secrets lie beneath our feet? 🗺️✨
Reference(s):
Million-year-old dinosaur fossils found in Hong Kong for first time
cgtn.com
