Pieces of dinosaur bones have been discovered in Hong Kong for the first time, in a remote island off the northern part of the city and the remains will be put on public display from Friday, authorities have said.
The Development Bureau said on Wednesday the fossils were found on Port Island off the waters at Tai Po, while experts believed they were from the Cretaceous period, about 66 million to 145 million years ago.
“Experts speculate that the dinosaur may have been buried under sand and gravel after death, then washed to the surface by a large flood and subsequently reburied at the discovery site,” a bureau spokesman said.
“Due to the scattered distribution and fragmented weathering of the dinosaur bones found, the chance of the dinosaur dying and being buried in the same place after death are relatively low.”
The island is part of the city’s geopark and Plover Cove Country Park.
The fossils will be displayed from Friday onwards at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui.