WATCH! Dino Death Trap

Palaeontologist Dr James Clark tells us about unearthing a pit of dino fossils in China...

NG Kids: Hi Dr Clark! How did you first hear about the unusual fossils in the Gobi Desert?
Dr Clark: I have been working the Gobi desert since 1991 and then in 2001 I started an expedition in western China with Dr Xu Xing which is where we found the Dino Death Traps.

NGK: How can you tell what dinosaurs actually looked like just from the fossils?
DC: We can't know exactly what the dinosaurs looked like; we have to guess a little. But because we found complete skeletons in the death traps we can tell how tall or small they were, whether they moved on two or four legs and even a bit about how fast they were! We also have some information about what kind of skin the dinosaurs had – whether they were scaly, smooth or feathered. Unfortunately, what we can't tell is what colour they were.


NGK: The "Death Trap" unearthed new species of dinosaur. Do you think that there are still many more species waiting to be discovered?
DC: Yes! We can't tell exactly how many more species of dinosaur there are waiting to be unearthed, but the more time we spend looking, the more we are sure to find. The Death Trap has been especially useful because it preserved smaller species of dinosaur that are very hard to find. We found a really strange looking two footed dinosaur which had really wimpy forearms – it was probably caught in the pit because it only had its hind legs and very weak arms to use for escape.
 

NGK: Where will the fossils be kept?
DC: They will be locked away in my office forever I hope!

NGK: When did you first become interested in dinosaurs?
DC: I grew up in LA and my high school ran a programme where students could take classes at the Natural History Museum. I also volunteered in the museum and spent a lot of my spare time out in the desert looking for rocks and fossils.

NGK: If you could go back in time to see one particular dinosaur which would it be?
DC: Oh, it would have to be a dinosaur called Mononykus. It had lots of tiny little teeth and really strong but short arms that had one large claw on the end. I would love to see what it used these strange claws for, what it else it could do and what it ate.

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