Doomed dinosaur ‘that died on the DAY of asteroid strike’ found in world-first discovery

A STUNNING leg fossil belonging to a doomed dinosaur has been unearthed, dating back to the very moment a giant asteroid wiped most species out.

Experts believe the small plant-eating creature was killed and entombed on the actual day dinosaurs went extinct 66million years ago.

‘Most incredible’ discovery of a fossilised dinosaur leg

BBCDavid Attenborough will reveal more on it in a doc for BBC One next week[/caption]

The beautifully preserved remains were found with a tiny fragment linked to the tragic event.

It was probably ripped off just after the asteroid struck and caused a flash flood.

Incredibly, some skin was also still in tact.

Scientists are getting excited because it could be the first physical evidence that the dinosaurs were killed off by an asteroid.

It’s a major development because not many of them have even been dug up from the final few thousand years before the impact.

The shock discovery is set to be revealed on TV in a BBC documentary with Sir David Attenborough next week.

Leading expert Robert DePalma said: “This is the most incredible thing that we could possibly imagine here, the best case scenario….The one thing that we always wanted to find in this site and here we’ve got it.”

The thescelosaurus, as the herbivore is called, was found in a treasure trove of dinosaur goodies in North Dakota that’s been named Tanis.

Deadly asteroid Chicxulub was about the size of Mount Everest and crashed down on the Gulf of Mexico 66million years ago.

It marked the very end of the dinosaurs’ 165million year reign on Earth.

The tiny fragment detected comes from the aftermath of the asteroid, which blasted molten rock out into space.

These eventually solidified and rained back down on Earth as tiny glass beads called spherules, which eventually turned into clay.

An extremely rare pterosaur egg with the fossilised bones of a baby inside was also recovered from the haul.

Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough will air on BBC One and iPlayer next Friday.

Full findings will be revealed in BBC doc next Friday

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