Although isolated dinosaur remains have been discovered in Italy since the 1990s, the recent find at Villaggio del Pescatore, a former limestone quarry near the north-eastern port city of Trieste, has been described as the “most significant”.
The fossils belong to the species Tethyshadros insularis, which lived 80 million years ago and reached up to five metres in length.
Federico Fanti, a professor at the University of Bologna and leader of the research team whose findings have been published in the Scientific Reports journal, said the area has become a treasure trove over the years.
“Thirty years ago, the Villaggio del Pescatore site brought to light extraordinary fossilised remains of a practically complete Tethyshadros insularis,” Fanti told Italian news agency ANSA.
“But it was a single find, like all the discoveries on Italian territory.
“Now for the first time we have a whole group, a site where we have many individuals and we can excavate to analyse and compare their remains.
“Italy isn’t known for dinosaurs and, although we’ve had a few lucky strikes in the past, now we have a whole herd at one site.”
Villaggio del Pescatore first became known for dinosaurs in 1996 after the discovery of a dinosaur skeleton that palaeontologists named Antonio and initially believed was a “dwarf species”.
But the latest discoveries dispute this, with Antonio now believed to have been a young dinosaur who was part of the same herd that died together.
The largest of the fossilised remains among the group has been named Bruno.
Fossilised remains of fish, crocodiles, flying reptiles and even small shrimp have also been found at the site, which 80 million years ago formed part of the ancient Mediterranean area.
Some of the fossils so far found at Villaggio del Pescatore, a protected area, are on display at the civic museum of natural history in Trieste, and experts hope eventually to open part of the site to the public.
