Scientist believes dinosaur fossil may be from victim of asteroids

By Emel Oz

ANKARA (AA) - A fossilized dinosaur leg may come from 66 million years ago, when Earth was hit by asteroids, causing a mass extinction of the giant reptiles, according to scientists.

Scientists who examined the fossil, found at the Tanis fossil site in the Midwestern US state of North Dakota, believe that the leg belongs to one of the dinosaurs that were killed after a giant asteroid struck Earth, the BBC reported.

"We've got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it's almost like watching it play out in the movies," said paleontologist Robert DePalma, who leads the Tanis dig.

Paul Barrett of London’s Natural History Museum said the fossil comes from Thescelosaurus, a herbivorous dinosaur species.

"It's from a group that we didn't have any previous record of what its skin looked like, and it shows very conclusively that these animals were very scaly like lizards," he added.