Profiles

During a month-long expedition in the Sahara Desert, a team of experts struck gold in Palaeontology terms - unearthing the fossil remains of two previously-unknown prehistoric creatures.

Dr David Martill, a reader in Palaeobiology at the University of Portsmouth was working in the team led by Nizar Ibrahim from University College Dublin and experts from Université Hassan II in Casablanca, Morroco.

Discoveries

Working in extreme conditions in the Sahara Desert, they searched an area based on geological maps of the region, but the actual process was less scientific - wandering around for hours on end, looking for fragments of bone on the desert surface which may be a clue to a larger bone hidden underground.

Excavating the sauropod bone (Photo:Bob Loveridge)

The team discovered a 3ft-long bone from a sauropod - a massive plant-eating dinosaur which was an estimated 17 metres long.

Nizar remembers the moment they discovered the bone: "It was quite special because it was such a giant bone - it was one of the biggest dinosaur bones ever found in North Africa."

He was so excited about the discovery, he spent most of the afternoon stroking his new find!

David explained its significance: "Plant eaters are uncommon in this deposit, extremely rare in this region, and to find one this large is very exciting. It's a major discovery."

They also found a large fragment of beak from the pterosaur, a large flying reptile. Nizar described it as "A flying-reptile - like a giant bat - some had a wingspan of 10 metres." Little was previously known of African pterosaurs so this is another ground-breaking discovery.

Both of the prehistoric creatures would have lived almost 100 million years ago.

The two specimens are particularly remarkable as both might well represent completely new species of dinosaur.

A sauropod (Mark Witton/Mike Taylor)

Millions of years ago the Sahara wasn't the barren, sandy wasteland it is today, but a lush green tropical paradise, home to giant dinosaurs and crocodiles.

The team were also excited to discover some rare dinosaur footprints, including some that record several animals walking along the same trail.

They also unearthed hundreds of dinosaur teeth, bits of giant crocodiles and some new species of fish.

Quest of a lifetime

For Dr David Martill, the discovery marked the successful conclusion to a quest begun almost 25 years ago.

In 1984, driven back by sandstorms, his original mission to find a sauropod came to a halt just 20 miles away from the area of desert he had pinpointed as ripe for excavation. He returned empty handed but was left itching to retrace his steps.

A quarter of a century later he unearthed the dinosaur that eluded him so long ago.

Nizar will now undertake the detailed analysis of the sauropod bone, which both scientists are confident is from a new species of the sauropod family.

Bone-shaker

Discovering the remains was one achievement, but getting them out of the desert and back to the UK would prove almost as big a challenge.

Carrying the giant bone (Photo:Bob Loveridge)

During their fieldwork they were cut off from civilisation for four days when heavy rain in the Atlas Mountains flooded the River Ziz.

Once they found the giant sauropod bone fossil, they coated it in plaster to protect it.  They had to carry it down the side of a mountain, clearing thousands of stones to make a safe path to carry it on a wooden stretcher.

Once back in their vehicle, the extra weight meant they kept sinking in the sand dunes and on several occasions everybody had to walk while the driver negotiated difficult terrain.

Once out of the desert, the team were caught in a snowstorm and total whiteout in the Atlas Mountains.  But David maintained:  "It's all been worth it."

Meanwhile the team are planning another expedition to the same site later in 2009: "Maybe there is more to find," says Nizar.