First dinosaur find in Pakistan

The bones are from the legs and backbone

The first ever dinosaur fossils to be discovered in Pakistan have been unearthed by scientists.

The remains, thought to be about 70 million years old, were found by geologists mapping the Barkhan district of the country's arid Baluchistan province. The specimens include legs and vertebrae.

We have found 102 bones of dinosaurs in the area during research and studies

Ghazanfar Abbas, Geological Survey of Pakistan

Abdul Latif, director of planning at the Geological Survey of Pakistan, said the discovery opened up new possibilities for research into the distribution of dinosaur populations.

He also said the discovery would shed new light on fluctuations of sea level and changes in sediment during the period. He thought this would aid Pakistan's search for oil and gas.

"We have found 102 bones of dinosaurs in the area during research and studies which we have been conducting over the past one year," said Ghazanfar Abbas of the Geological Survey of Pakistan.

More than 100 bones were found

"It will open up several new avenues of research such as the palaeogeographic location of the sea, past land bridges in south and central Asia and the migratory pathways for dinosaurs and other land animals," he said.

Two experts from Michigan University in the United States visited the site last month and confirmed that the bones were those of dinosaurs.