The Leader

Fossil of dinosaur 'killed in asteroid strike' found

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Episode notes

A piece of Earth’s history has just been found. Scientists have discovered a fossil of a perfectly preserved dinosaur leg that may have been ‘ripped off’ by the asteroid that sparked a mass extinction.


It was unearthed at a site in Tanis, North Dakota, 3,000km away from the asteroid impact site in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s one of a number of impressive finds from the location. 


Professor Paul Barrett, dinosaur specialist from the Natural History Museum, explains the significance of this 66-million-year-old find.


Today we talk about:

  • The significance of the discovery (02:50)
  • Other findings at this particular site (04: 09)
  • The upcoming Sir David Attenborough BBC documentary on the Tanis site (05:34)


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