The fossil in the drawer

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Scientists have identified a new dinosaur from Antarctica.

Researchers say a single tail vertebra belonged to a creature called a titanosaur!

Mark Evans is one of the researchers:

EVANS: The very largest of the titanosaurs were titanic, hence the name, and they were the largest ever living land animals.

The identification came after researchers compared the fossil with more complete remains.

And where did they make this surprising discovery?

Not in Antarctica. No, they found it in a desk drawer!

The fossil had been sitting there since 1985 and labeled simply “large reptile.”

It turns out, sometimes the next big scientific discovery doesn’t require another pricey expedition … just somebody finally cleaning out the desk drawer.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

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