• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Rare intact dinosaur skeleton discovered after one man kept it as his little secret for two years

Home> News> World News

Published 19:43 11 Mar 2024 GMT

Rare intact dinosaur skeleton discovered after one man kept it as his little secret for two years

The remains were found in the south of France

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson

Dinosaurs have captured the human imagination for hundreds of years.

Their portrayal in films and cartoons has won them enthusiasts all over the world - and that's not even going into the levels of scientific research conducted about them.

One man in France may be living the dreams of many then, as he recently stumbled across the remains of an incredibly rare intact dinosaur skeleton.

Damien Boschetto was walking his dog Muffin in the forests of Montouliers, in the South of France, when he spotted bones sticking out of a cliffside.

Boschetto, who is a Paleontology enthusiast, then spent the next two years unearthing the dinosaur.

Advert

It was eventually discovered that the bones belonged to a long-necked titanosaur.

Talking to ABC News, Boschetto said: "It happened one morning like any other, during an ordinary walk.

"The territory around Cruzy is rich in fossils of dinosaurs and other species living at the same time."

Damien Boschetto came across these remains whilst walking his dog.
Instagram/@damienboschetto

Advert

The discovery was particularly exciting for Boschetto, as he claimed that dinosaur remains were hard to come by in Europe.

Since being excavated, the dinosaur has been found to be 30 feet long and 70 percent complete.

"They were fallen bones, therefore isolated. We realized after a few days of excavations that they were connected bones," Boschetto explained.

In the two years of digging, Boschetto and members of the Archaeological and Paleontological Cultural Association kept the site a secret.

Advert

The dinosaur bones were found in the south of France.
Damien Boschetto

The dinosaur's skeleton, which is 70 million years old, will now be placed on display at the Cruzy Museum.

Francis Fage, the founder of Cruzy Museum, said that Boschetto was lucky to have spotted the dinosaur: "It is very rare to find this, he had to have the eye.

"There are some who have passed for 30 years and they have not seen this site."

Advert

Since his discovery, Boschetto has left his job in the energy sector and is currently working towards a Master's degree in Paleontology.

He hopes to continue his work with the Cruzy Museum.

This is what a long-necked titanosaur could have looked like.
Dinosaur Land

Titanosaurs lived during the Cretaceous period, which lasted from 145 million to 66 million years ago.

Advert

The plant eating dinosaurs were noted for having long necks, and were estimated to weigh around 70 tons.

They averaged a length of around 85 feet - meaning Boschetto's 30 foot discovery was a outlier. Whether it be 30 feet or 85 feet, it certainly dwarves us humans any day of the week.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@damienboschetto / Damien Boschetto

Topics: Dinosaurs, Science

Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

10 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Miami Dade Police Department
    10 mins ago

    Wild 6-word statement burglary suspect allegedly yelled after pooping in courtroom and throwing it at judge

    The suspect tried to throw his faeces at the judge

    News
  • Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Kristen Bell fans shocked as she jokes about Dax Shepard killing her in bold post

    The couple celebrated 12 years of marriage on Friday (October 17)

    Celebrity
  • John Harper/Getty
    an hour ago

    Everything that was stolen as iconic Louvre museum is closed after robbery

    The museum said it has closed due to 'exceptional' reasons

    News
  • AZDPS Highway Patrol/Facebook
    2 hours ago

    Police issue warning after drunk 13-year-old crashes car at 100mph with 11-year-old in passenger seat

    The teenager is expected to face driving-under-the-influence (DUI) charges

    News
  • Dinosaur skeleton the length of two buses and weighing 20,000 kilos sells for $6,400,000
  • Hundreds of dinosaur footprints found in quarry by researchers in extremely 'rare' discovery
  • Scientists discovered long lost sunken island loaded with rare Earth minerals sparking debate over who owns it
  • Scientists discovered bizarre radio signal from 13,000,000,000 years ago and it could answer how the universe started