A fossil of a carnivorous dinosaur has been found in the Western desert of Egypt!
Photo Source: Arab News
The fossil was dated back to 98 million years ago, and was discovered by a Egyptian led research team, considered to be the oldest known fossil of the species found in all of northeastern Africa.
Photo Source: Arab News
The fossil was a well-preserved neck vertebra was found in the Bahariya Oasis of the vast desert, discovered by the 2016 expedition.
According to the researchers, the vertebra belonged to a species called Abelisaurid theropod, that lived in the Cretaceous period.
Abelisaurid theropod, was a species that lived around 145 to 66 million years ago (Cretaceous Period) and was carnivorous in nature.
Species of this kind, were generally found in parts of Europe and modern Southern Hemisphere continents, such as Africa and South America, in addition to the Indian Ocean, Island of Madagascar.
In the early 20th century, fossils of other famous dinosaurs from this period were discovered in the same region.
These included dinosaurs like Spinosaurus, but the samples were unfortunately, destroyed during the bombing in Munich during World War II.
The study was conducted in conducted by members of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP), Egypt's Environmental Affairs Agency and U.S. researchers.
“It's the first time we discover here a meat-eating dinosaur in over a century”, said Belal Salem, a member of the research.