First Dinosaurs Identified in Saudi Arabia

Amlan Chaudhuri

Author: Science Daily
Date: Jan, 7, 2014
URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140107092829.htm

Summary

Recently, a group of scientists that were working under the auspices of the Saudi Geological Survey came across vertebrae and teeth that belonged to  "Brontosaurus-like" sauropod, or a dinosaur. It was found in a dry desert. However, in the time of dinosaurs, the desert was once a beach. This allowed the bones and teeth to be preserved as these fossils. The teeth and bones are approximately 72 million years old. Similar dinosaurs were found in North Africa, Madagascar, and South America. The isotope that was used to date this was most likely Uranium 238 because of its long half life. Also, this is the first dinosaur found in the Arabian Peninsula. Hopefully, this will lead to further discoveries so we can know more about the creatures. 

Relevance

This is relevant to our unit of evolution. In this unit we learned that fossils are mostly found in places with sedimentary rocks. Also, they are common in water. The desert was once a beach so the dinosaur could be preserved. Also, we learned about the half life of isotopes to date fossils. Since this fossil is a dinosaur and it was a long time ago, the most likely isotope would be uranium 238. Since, similar dinosaurs were found in South America, this supports continental drift. The dinosaurs were probably living on the same mass of land when they died and became fossils. Then the land masses split apart and they moved farther away.