A fossilised bone from a dinosaur that once roamed Antarctica has been discovered in a drawer at the Natural History Museum in London. The specimen, a vertebra from a plesiosaur, is the first dinosaur bone ever recovered from the continent, and its unearthing in a museum archive rather than in the field underscores the vast, untapped potential of existing collections.
The vertebra was originally collected in 1989 by a British Antarctic Survey team but was misidentified as a rock. It lay unidentified for decades until Dr. Emily Roberts, a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge, noticed its distinctive structure while cataloguing specimens for a digital archive. CT scans confirmed the bone's dinosaur origin, dating it to the Cretaceous period, roughly 100 million years ago.
"This is a remarkable find," said Dr. Roberts. "Antarctica is one of the last frontiers for dinosaur fossils, but the extreme conditions make fieldwork nearly impossible. This discovery shows that we don't always need to go to the ends of the earth to find groundbreaking specimens; sometimes they are hiding in plain sight."
The plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs, was a long-necked predator up to 10 metres in length. Its presence in Antarctica provides critical evidence for understanding how these animals adapted to the polar environment. During the Cretaceous, Antarctica was warmer and covered in forests, but it still experienced months of darkness. How plesiosaurs navigated and hunted in such conditions remains a mystery.
"The discovery highlights the importance of museum collections as archives of the Earth's history," said Dr. Helena Vance, Science and Climate Correspondent. "Every drawer and cabinet holds potential for discovery. This vertebra is a testament to the value of long-term curation and the often-overlooked role of museums in advancing science."
The find also has implications for climate research. By studying fossils from Antarctica, scientists can reconstruct past climates and better predict future changes. The Cretaceous period is a key analogue for understanding a high-CO2 world, and fossils like this vertebra provide direct evidence of how ecosystems responded.
"This is not just about dinosaurs," emphasised Dr. Vance. "It's about what the past can tell us about our future. Antarctica was once teeming with life. Now it's a frozen desert. If we don't address climate change, we could see similar transformations elsewhere."
The vertebra will now be displayed at the Natural History Museum, alongside other Antarctic specimens. The museum is also planning a new research initiative to systematically screen its collections for other overlooked fossils.
"This is a wake-up call," said Dr. Roberts. "There are likely hundreds of specimens waiting to be discovered in museums around the world. We just have to look."
