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Jawbones in Madagascar Scientists from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago announced findings of what appear to be the oldest dinosaur fossils ever found. The remains are jawbones from two new, plant-eating dinosaurs who lived in the Middle to Late Triassic Period, 225 to 230 million years ago. New Dinosaur Species Found in China A fierce, turkey-sized theropod with sharp claws and teeth was found in Liaoning Province of China. It may be the first feathered, flying dinosaur. Archaeoraptor liaoningensis lived 120 million to 140 million years ago. It had hollow bones, a modified shoulder girdle and breast bones that resemble those of birds, a long stiff tail, and a full set of feathers. Wyoming Dinosaur Footprints Now Part of Federal Preserve February 1999 ...Rare dinosaur footprints estimated to be 165 million to 170 million years old were discovered in a washed out gully in the Bighorn Basin of Northern Wyoming last year. Indiana University geologist Erik Kvale was examining ripple marks on federally owned property and realized they were tracks. Announcement of the find was delayed until it could be determined how best to preserve the site. The Federal Bureau of Land Management has indicated that the 40 acres, now known as the Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, will be used as an educational site and may become a national monument since it contains what may be one of the most extensive dinosaur track sites in North America. The tracks date to the Middle Jurassic Period. According to Kvale, very little is known about dinosaurs in North America at that time. Paleontologists who have visited the site say some of the smaller tracks are quite birdlike. |