Scientists Discover Fossil of Dinosaur Killed in Asteroid Strike

Scientists have discovered the fossil of a dinosaur which they believe dates back to the day a meteor struck Earth, causing the extinction of dinosaurs.

A perfectly preserved thescelosaurus leg was found at the Tanis dig site in North Dakota, where the presence of debris from the impact 66 million years ago, which rained down in its immediate aftermath, allowed them to date the site highly accurately, according to The Guardian.

"It's absolutely bonkers," said Phillip Manning, a professor of natural history at the University of Manchester, during an appearance on BBC Radio 4's "Today" program, adding that the fossilized leg was the "ultimate dinosaur drumstick."

Professor Paul Barrett from London's Natural History Museum noted that the leg looked like it had been "ripped off really quickly."

"There's no evidence on the leg of disease, there are no obvious pathologies, there's no trace of the leg being scavenged, such as bite marks or bits of it that are missing," he told BBC. "So, the best idea that we have is that this is an animal that died more or less instantaneously."

Commenting on the time resolution, Manning said that the discovery was "beyond our wildest dreams."

"This really should not exist and it's absolutely gobsmackingly beautiful. I never dreamt in all my career that I would get to look at something a) so time-constrained; and b) so beautiful, and also tells such a wonderful story."

Manning explained that his team also discovered the remains of fish that had breathed in the debris from the impact of the asteroid.

"We've got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it's almost like watching it play out in the movies," said Robert DePalma, the University of Manchester graduate student who is leading the Tanis dig. "You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day."

In addition to the fossilized leg, the team also found the fossil of a turtle that was skewered by a wooden stake; the remains of small mammals and the burrows they made; skin from a horned triceratops; the embryo of a flying pterosaur inside its egg; and what appears to be a fragment from the asteroid impactor itself, BBC noted.

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