[Rockhounds] ‘Bloody everywhere’: Australia’s incredible ‘dinosaur boom’

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Australia is in the midst of an incredible “dinosaur boom” as record
numbers of farmers unearth ancient dinosaur bones that send tourists
flocking to their rural properties.

Up until the 21st Century, dinosaur fossils were extremely rare to find in
Australia, according to Matt Hearne, curator at the Australian Age of
Dinosaurs Museum. The massive island continent was a huge knowledge gap for
palaeontologists all over the world.

Now, Mr Hearne says dinosaur bones are “bloody everywhere”.
Australia’s dinosaur boom began in 1999, when David Elliot discovered
scientifically groundbreaking fossils on his farm near Winton, 15 hours
northwest of Brisbane.

His fellow farmers were nervous about the discovery, as many wondered
whether it would allow scientists to seize their property, but Mr Elliot
went ahead and contacted a palaeontologist.

It turned out he’d discovered the giant fossilised thighbone of a sauropod
that roamed Australia some 95 million years ago.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/bloody-everywhere-australias-incredible-dinosaur-boom/news-story/8fd80e2938a9c34e77de0e2c762eb076