China, a nation exceptionally rich in dinosaur remains, has been recognized internationally as a preeminent place to study these fascinating creatures which came into being some 235 million years ago, but mysteriously disappeared from the face of the earth 170 million years later.
The country has excavated and named over 170 species of dinosaurs over the past 100 years, accounting for about one sixth of the world's total and making it the world's No.1 country that can boast these rare treasures.
Professor Dong Zhiming, an internationally acclaimed Chinese paleontologist and dinosaur expert, listed the ten most remarkable Chinese dinosaurs based on their fossil specimen's excavation times, preservation conditions, scientific value and public recognition.
Here, China.org.cn has compiled the top ten most famous Chinese dinosaurs:
Mandschurosaurus amurensis Riabinin 黑龙江满洲龙
Mandschurosaurus amurensis Riabinin [File Photo] |
In 1902, a Russian colonel named Manakin bought a batch of dinosaur fossils from local fishermen in Jiayin County, Heilongjiang Province. The fossils, found on the southern banks of the Heilongjiang (Amur) River, were the earliest discovery of dinosaur remains in China. Recognized as a Cretaceous plant-eating hadrosaur of about 4.5 meters in height and 8 meters in length, it was named Mandschurosaurus amurensis by the Soviet Union paleontologist A.N. Riabinin in 1930. The remains are now collected in the Saint Petersburg Geology Museum in Russia.
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