Jurassic in Los Angeles! Earth's only green-boned dinosaur is here
dinosaur has been mounted for display at Los Angeles' Natural History Museum. The newly found species is older than Tyrannosaurus rex, as per a Fox News report.
The species is known as "Gnatalie" and it lived 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic Era.
The dinosaur's fossils, remarkable for their distinct and vibrant hues, owe their unique coloration to the presence of the mineral celadonite. During the fossilization process, this mineral infiltrated the bones, replacing the original organic material and imparting its characteristic greenish tint.
This interaction between the ancient remains and celadonite not only preserved the skeletal structure but also created a striking visual record of the past, allowing scientists and enthusiasts alike to appreciate the intricate and colorful details of these prehistoric creatures.
Named “Gnatalie” (pronounced Natalie) for the gnats that swarmed during the excavation, the long-necked, long-tailed herbivorous dinosaur's fossils got its unique coloration, a dark mottled olive green, from the mineral celadonite during the fossilization process.
While fossils are typically brown from silica or black from iron minerals, green is rare because celadonite forms in volcanic or hydrothermal conditions that typically destroy buried bones. The celadonite entered the fossils when volcanic activity around 50 million to 80 million years ago made it hot enough to replace a previous mineral.
The dinosaur lived 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic Era, making it older than
