‘Just the beginning’: Thailand’s dinosaur rush could soon uncover its 16th species
Researchers in Thailand are accelerating efforts to identify new dinosaur species, with hopes of confirming a 16th species in the coming months. The region's fossil deposits are considered vital for understanding evolutionary gaps during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Why it matters
These discoveries provide essential data for global paleontological records and highlight Thailand's growing importance in the scientific study of prehistoric life.
KHON KAEN, Sept 4 — A dinosaur statue stands guard outside a temple, a hint at the ancient giants buried deep in the earth below making up northeastern Thailand’s “dinosaur rush”.
Researchers have found a trove of dinosaur fossils across the region, which holds the country’s richest deposits, offering insight into the creatures that roamed the planet millions of years ago.
Prehistoric specimens from the region’s sun-baked soil were identified this year as two new species — Southeast Asia’s largest dinosaur Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis and the long-necked Uragasaurus kalasinensis.
They are the latest discoveries in a series that researchers at Mahasarakham University — which leads the field — hope will result in Thailand’s 16th species within months.
“Thailand really is the hotspot for research and discovery” in Southeast Asia, said Richard Cloutier, a professor of palaeontology visiting from Canada’s Universite du Quebec a Rimouski.
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