A titanosaur tail bone sat forgotten in a British Antarctic Survey drawer for 40 years before palaeontologists confirmed it as Antarctica's first dinosaur fossil. Found in 1985 on the Antarctic Peninsula, the bone dates to the Late Cretaceous about 82 million years ago, proving these massive herbivores roamed a then-forested continent. As climate change strips back Antarctic ice, far more prehistoric discoveries are waiting to be uncovered.
A fossil pulled from a Cambridge drawer after 40 years is now confirmed as Antarctica's first dinosaur bone — a titanosaur vertebra from James Ross Island, dated to 82 million years ago. The find reshapes understanding of how life thrived at the bottom of the world when Antarctica was blanketed in lush forest. Museum collections are irreplaceable precisely because specimens like this one keep yielding breakthroughs long after they're first found.
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 7.4.1