Stumbling Across Dinosaur Fossils Isn’t As Uncommon As You Might Think

Did you know that finding fossils in your own back yard isn’t as unlikely as you would think? 

According to experts, there is an area in Australia that was one formally a thriving habitat for dinosaurs millions of years ago but is now a town that is renowned for being rife with fossils. 

This area is better known as the Australian dinosaur trail or the dinosaur triangle, which links the Queensland towns of Hughenden, Richmond and Winton. 

Here you can find some of the world’s best preserved fossils and even try your hand at dusting off 98 million year old dinosaur bones. 

Not too far from Winton in the town of Belmont, sheep farmer David Elliott stumbled across some well-preserved dinosaur bones which sparked a massive excavation of the area, leading scientist to discover 17 forklift pallets worth of dinosaur bones over several years. 

Doctor Sophie Calabretto is joined by Cosmos journalist Evrim Yazgin who reveals how likely it is for us to stumble across a set of dinosaur bones in our own backyard. 

Tune into the full episode of The Science Briefing below…