'It is very rare to find whole dinosaur skeletons in such condition. These discoveries have global significance.' Picture: Andrei Atuchin

Two well preserved 'parrot lizards', or Psittacosaurus Sibiricus, have been found close to two 'cub dinosaurs', says Natalya Demidenko, a senior official at Kemerovo regional history museum.

'We found not only one skeleton which in size is 2 metres in length and 1.5 metres wide, but nearby saw one smaller skeleton and two little skeletons of cub dinosaurs,' she said.

She speculated that it could be a dinosaur family from the Mesozoic era, but stressed it was too early to draw definitive conclusions.

'The skeletons are intact and in great condition,' said Olga Feofanova, the museum's director. 'It is very rare to find whole dinosaur skeletons in such condition.' She insisted: 'These discoveries have global significance.'

The sensational discoveries were made on the 24th day of an expedition by Moscow palaeontologists and Siberian scientists.

The finds were made at a depth of two and a half metres at a long established excavation site, known as a 'dinosaurs' graveyard', close to the village of Shestakovo. The site has long offered bones and teeth of dinosaurs.

The finds were made at a depth of two and a half metres at a long established excavation site, known as a 'dinosaurs' graveyard', close to the village of Shestakovo. Pictures: Google maps

'The find looks like as an ancient skeleton of middle size herbivorous dinosaurs, which Russian people named a 'parrot lizard' because animal has a big beak as a bird, which helped to eat plants', said Natalya Demidenko.

Remains of Psittacosaurus Sibiricus dinosaurs were earlier discovered by Tomsk scientists during excavation works at this Shestakovsky site at the end of the 20th century.

The team used the 'monolith' method to cut the remains from the earth in a cube and transport it to the museum for cleaning and analysis. This minimises the risk of damage.

'We found not only one skeleton which in size is 2 metres in length and 1.5 metres wide, but nearby saw one smaller skeleton and two little skeletons of cub dinosaurs.' Pictures: Natalya Demidenko

'When the 'monolith' arrives at the museum we will start scaling the soil off the skeleton in an effort likely to last for about six months,' she said.

'The end result will be an exhibit of global significance which is likely to attract not only Kemerovo paleontologists, but also representatives of major profile institutes.'

The two-legged plant-eating dinosaurs, the size of a gazelle, had a powerful 'beak' on their upper jaw.

'The find looks like as an ancient skeleton of middle size herbivorous dinosaurs, which Russian people named a 'parrot lizard' because animal has a big beak as a bird, which helped to eat plants.' Pictures: Andrei Atuchin, Pavel Riha





