Photo: China News

Chinese paleontologists discovered the fossil remains of a Jurassic period dinosaur in Lufeng, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, in late May, according to a report from a local provincial media outlet. 

The fossil, about 70 percent complete, belonged to a dinosaur that is estimated to have been about 8 meters long. 

"Such a highly complete dinosaur fossil is a rare find around the world. The fossil can be seen as a national treasure and the discovery will be considered a shocking event in the history of global paleontology if we manage to excavate the fossil's head bones during the next excavation project," said Wang Tao, head of the Dinosaur Fossil Conservation and Research Center of Lufeng City. 

This dinosaur fossil was discovered from a 180 million year old layer of soil that dates back to the Jurassic period. 

"According to the fossils we have discovered over the years and based on its tail and thigh bones, this should be a type of a giant Lufengsaurus, which lived during the Early Jurassic period. We estimate the complete fossil would be about 8 meters long," Wang added.  

Currently, the Dinosaur Fossil Conservation and Research Center of Lufeng City is conducting a rescue excavation of the fossil since it was discovered on a hillside where soil erosion poses a danger to it. 

Earlier in 2021, the skeleton of a juvenile dinosaur from the Early Jurassic was discovered in Lufeng by a team of paleontologists. The fossil may belong to a new species as it does not match any known genus or species of dinosaur.