The First Dinosaur from the Kingdom of Cambodia: A Sauropod Fibula from the Lower Cretaceous of Koh Kong Province, South-Western Cambodia

Abstract

The first discovery of a dinosaur bone from the Kingdom of Cambodia is reported in this paper. It consists of a sauropod fibula from a sandstone layer on Koh Paur island, in Koh Kong province, in south-western Cambodia. The dinosaur-bearing bed belongs to the non-marine Grès Supérieurs series and is apparently of Early Cretaceous age. On the basis of various characters, notably the development of the anteromedial crest, the dinosaur fibula from Koh Paur is referred to a euhelopodid titanosauriform. This first dinosaur discovery in Cambodia suggests that the thick non-marine formations which cover vast areas in the south-western part of the country are potentially an important source of continental Mesozoic vertebrates.