Published : 24/10/2024
First-ever dinosaur fossil discovered in Hong Kong!
As announced by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on 23 October, a fossil estimated to be from the "Cretaceous Period" was discovered in Port Island in the northeastern waters of Hong Kong.
The fossil can be traced back to as far as 145 million years ago. Port Island was temporarily closed off for further examination. The dinosaur fossil will be exhibited at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui starting from 25 October.
Even though this is the first time a dinosaur fossil has been unearthed in Hong Kong, as early as 1980, Hong Kong has already discovered a "Placoderm fish" fossil, which dates further back than the dinosaur era about 370 million years ago.
If you pay close attention, you might spot traces of fossils at places like MTR stations and commercial buildings in your daily life in Hong Kong.
Dinosaur fossil found in Port Island
In March this year, the AMO of the Development Bureau received notification from the AFCD that the sedimentary rocks in Port Island, located in the northeastern waters of Hong Kong, might contain suspected vertebrate fossils.
The AMO subsequently invited experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to investigate.
The experts collected fossil specimens in the field, and after preliminary identification using bone tissue sections, they were identified that the specimens as bone fossils of large aged dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, with a history of about 145 million to 66 million years ago.
Experts will conduct further research, including excavation of the existing fossils on Port Island and continued restoration of fossil samples, to confirm the species of the dinosaur.
They also plan to partner with local and other universities to construct the story of Hong Kong's dinosaurs. The AFCD has temporarily closed off the entire Port Island to facilitate the work of experts.
Read more: Exploring Hong Kong's global geopark: Witness strange rocks and don't forget conservation
China is the country with the most dinosaur discoveries in the world
China is the country with the most discovered types of dinosaurs in the world.
As reported by China Central Television, apart from Tianjin, Shanghai, Hainan, Qinghai, Macao, and Taiwan, traces of dinosaur existence can be found almost all over the country.
According to statistics from the Chinese Museum of Paleontology, as of December 2023, there were 343 named species of dinosaurs in China, the highest number in the world.
Even though Hong Kong has only just discovered dinosaur fossils, fossils of ancient organisms that are older than the dinosaur era have long been unearthed in Hong Kong.
Read more: Complete fossil of a mammoth found in Gansu Province
3.7 billion-year-old fish fossil discovered in Plover Cove
As early as 1980, the late Professor Li Zuoming, former museum expert consultant (History) for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), discovered a "Placoderm fish" fossil from the Devonian period, about 370 million years ago, in Plover Cove, Tai Po.
This discovery proves that Hong Kong's geological history could be traced back to about 400 million years ago.
Additionally, in 2014, Edison Tse Tze-kei, a first-class honours graduate from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, found a fossil of a Paralycoptera dating back to about 147 million years ago, which is believed to be from the Late Jurassic Period, within fossils collected from Lai Chi Chong.
This was the first vertebrate fossil from the dinosaur era to be identified in Hong Kong.
Read more: Did Humans Evolve from Fish? China Finds the World's Oldest Gnathostome Fossil
A hunt for fossils of ancient organism in Hong Kong
In reality, fossils of ancient organisms aren't inaccessible. Hong Kong citizens actually pass by places like MTR stations, shopping malls, and commercial buildings that conceal many such fossils in their daily lives.
In August this year, the Facebook page "Fossils HongKong" founded by Paleontology expert Lung Tak-chun, shared photos taken at Taikoo Place in Quarry Bay.
As seen in the photos, an Ammonite fossil measuring 19 centimetres in length is hidden in the marble floor of this modern commercial complex, representing the largest one discovered in marble in Hong Kong.
Other fossils, like the fossil of Belemnite that formed 100 to 200 million years ago, were also found on the same site.
In 2020, the Facebook page also released photos of ammonites and gastropod fossils found on the wall of MTR Sha Tin Station, which proves that with a keen eye in daily life, anyone can be an archaeologist and explore traces of ancient organisms.
Read more: Discovery of the fossil of the "Lantian Man" skull