Whole dinosaur on show to public

An intact dinosaur skeleton unearthed in Dorset is about to go on public display in Bristol.

The detail on the spiky plant-eating scelidosaurus is so clear it is possible to see the contents of its last meal still in its throat.

Fossil hunter Dave Soul made the discovery near Charmouth eight years ago and kept going back until he had collected the entire dinosaur.

The skeleton will go on show at the Bristol Museum next month.

"I decided I should investigate a strange-looking rock covered in mud, so I took the hammer to a corner of it and knocked the mud off and it was packed full of bone," said Mr Soul.

"I would never have dreamed of making such a find. It's a very exciting find for me," he said.

Experts who examined the bones say the skeleton shows the dinosaur was more spiky than previously thought and that its whole body was covered with armour.

"It was an absolutely jaw-dropping moment (seeing the skeleton)," said Dr Tim Ewin of Bristol City Museum.

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BBC Science and Nature: prehistoric life
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