Fossilised dinosaur comes to life in children’s book
One of Lightning Ridge’s most famous residents, the Fostoria dhimbangunmal dinosaur, has become the subject of a new children’s book to be stocked at the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge.
Fostoria dhimbangunmal was named in honour of opal miner Robert Foster, who discovered fossils, encased in mostly grey potch opal, in the 1980s.
The species name, dhimbangunmal means ‘sheep yard’ in the local Yawalaraay and Yuwaaliyaay languages, in recognition of the Sheepyard locality where the bones were found.
Scientists from the Australian Museum in Sydney helped excavate the fossils, but the bones remained unidentified until donated to the Australian Opal Centre by Robert’s children Gregory and Joanne Foster in 2015, under the Federal Government’s Cultural Gift Program.
In 2019, Dr Phil Bell, lead researcher from the University of New England in Armidale, said he was stunned by the sheer number of bones found.[…]
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