11 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

History, geography, and evolution are rewrites thanks to an incredible dinosaur trove discovered in Italy

A dinosaur trove in Italy rewrites the history, geography, and evolution of the ancient Mediterranean area.

Italy is not exactly renowned for dinosaurs. In comparison to its excellent artistic and archaeological heritage, dinosaur fossils are very rare. Not surprisingly, the discovery of the first isolated remains from these animals, in the early 1990s, generated quite an excitement but was shortly after considered nothing more than an exception to a general rule. During the reign of dinosaurs, between 230 and 66 million years ago, the ancient Mediterranean area would have been hard to map, formed by countless small islands far from all major mainlands – Europe, Africa, and Asia – unsuitable to sustain large animals like the dinosaurs. Or so we believed.

Now, a new study published on Scientific Reports and coordinated by researchers from the University of Bologna unveils the first palaeontological site with multiple, exceptionally complete dinosaur skeletons from Italy: the Villaggio del Pescatore site, located in the Duino-Aurisina municipality, near Trieste, in north-eastern Italy.

These beautiful skeletons belong to the species Tethyshadros insularis and represent the biggest and most complete dinosaur ever found in this Country. The team describes the skeletons of some of the most beautiful and pristine dinosaurs from the site (in particular of a new individual nicknamed “Bruno”) and highlights the occurrence of seven (probably eleven) individuals at the Villaggio del Pescatore.

Skeletal reconstructions of the two individuals of Tethyshadros insularis, with the immature specimen nicknamed “Antonio” (above) and the mature, newly described skeleton of “Bruno” below. Credit: University of Bologna
Skeletal reconstructions of the two individuals of Tethyshadros insularis, with the immature specimen nicknamed “Antonio” (above) and the mature, newly described skeleton of “Bruno” below. Credit: University of Bologna

Dinosaurs are not the only fossil remains from the site: fish, crocodiles, flying reptiles and even small crustaceans provide a vivid picture of an ancient ecosystem that has no equal worldwide. The unique fossils collected from the Villaggio del Pescatore can be admired in Trieste at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, granted on deposit by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

The study also reviews and rewrites many evolutionary hypotheses to interpret the ancient Mediterranean context. Originally, geologists interpreted the area that today is the Villaggio del Pescatore site as part of an island in the middle of a “proto-Mediterranean” ocean called Tethys. This supported the incorrect interpretation that the relatively small, first dinosaur skeleton found at the site (nicknamed “Antonio”), was actually a “dwarf” species, an example of the so-called “island rule” (the evolutionary miniaturization of bigger animals in an insular environment due to the scarcity of resources).

In this new study, the research team documents that “Antonio” is an immature individual, whereas “Bruno,” which is bigger in size, represents an older individual – and that could have been still growing at the time of its death.

The skull of “Bruno,” the newly described skeleton of the dinosaur Tethyshadros insularis. Credit: A. Giamborino (courtesy of Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio del Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
The skull of “Bruno,” the newly described skeleton of the dinosaur Tethyshadros insularis. Credit: A. Giamborino (courtesy of Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio del Friuli-Venezia Giulia)

New geological data gathered by the team also provided the age of the site and its fossils: approximately 80 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period. This is about 10 million years older than previously thought: quite a long time even when dealing with dinosaurs. At that time, what is now north-eastern Italy was a land facing a vast ocean but connected to western Europe and Asia. This means that not only small islands characterized the ancient Mediterranean, but many migratory routes for large terrestrial animals like the dinosaurs might have been possible across land bridges of what we nowadays call Italy.

This new research highlights not just a first in terms of exceptional findings, but most importantly the pivotal role of the Italian dinosaur fossil record for evaluating important scientific hypotheses on these ancient animals. As the site is already protected from the Italian institutions, new research and didactic activities may represent an opportunity to include the geological and paleontological heritage in the “must-see” list while visiting the “Belpaese.”

Reference: “An Italian dinosaur Lagerstätte reveals the tempo and mode of hadrosauriform body size evolution” 2 December 2021, Scientific Reports.

The researchers involved in the study are Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza (University of Vigo), Matteo Fabbri (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago), Lorenzo Consorti (the University of Trieste and Geological Survey of Italy – ISPRA), Juan Cantalapiedra (Universidad de Alcalá), David Evans (Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto), Federico Fanti and Marco Muscioni (University of Bologna).

Cover Photo: An adult and two juvenile individuals of the dinosaur Tethyshadros insularis show the different appearances exhibited by immature and mature specimens in the ancient environment of Villaggio del Pescatore, the first locality in Italy preserving many dinosaur individuals of the same species. Credit: Davide Bonadonna

UNİVERSİTÀ Dİ BOLOGNA

Related Articles

Archaeologists have discovered a 2800-year-old Urartian Castle in eastern Turkey

17 June 2021

17 June 2021

Archaeologists discovered the ruins of a castle going back 2,800 years on a mountain 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea...

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

Ancient objects found in Jerusalem could be hand grenades used 1000 years ago, New study says

27 April 2022

27 April 2022

New analysis into the residue inside ancient ceramic pots from 11th–12th century Jerusalem has found that they were potentially used...

Ancient coins surface with Lake Iznik’s withdrawal in Türkiye

2 May 2023

2 May 2023

With the withdrawal of Lake Iznik in the northwest of Türkiye, the ancient coins found at the bottom of the...

Archaeologists Discover Prehistoric Irish Monuments That May Have Been ‘Routes For The Dead’

27 April 2024

27 April 2024

Traces of hundreds of monuments, which were previously unknown, have been identified in an archaeological survey in Ireland. Five of...

1900 years old a Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization reveals Anatolia’s strategic importance in maritime trade

16 September 2023

16 September 2023

A Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization, located in Andriake port in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district, tells...

Earthquakes caused slight damage to Hatay Archeology Museum

10 February 2023

10 February 2023

The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a press release on the latest status of museums and...

Ancient Well Dating Back to 7th Century AD Discovered on Failaka Island

18 March 2025

18 March 2025

An ancient well, dating back to the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, has been discovered on Failaka Island, providing valuable...

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal...

Maltaş Temple Revealed

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Phrygian Valley, 10 meters high monument with Phrygian scriptures inscriptions on it discovered. The unearthed Maltaş monument is actually the...

Turkey’s second ancient lighthouse found in the Bathonea

28 July 2023

28 July 2023

The excavations in the ancient Greek city of Bathonea, located in the Küçükçekmece Lake basin in the Avcılar district of...

Remains of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s Harran

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

The remnants of a 12th-century madrassa (Islamic institution of higher instruction) have been discovered in the archaeological site of Harran,...

The largest marine turtle fossil of its kind ever discovered in Europe unearthed in Spain

21 November 2022

21 November 2022

In northern Spain, scientists discovered the remains of a new species of enormous marine turtle. The prehistoric creature is the...

1500-year-old Medallion Rescued From Treasure Hunters on Display in Çorum Museum

3 May 2021

3 May 2021

A 1,500-year-old gold medallion portraying a figure of Jesus Christ has been exhibited at a museum in Turkey’s northern province...

Scientists Find Aztec ‘Death Whistles’ do Weird Things to the Listeners’ Brains

18 November 2024

18 November 2024

New research reveals that one of the Aztecs’ most chilling artefacts, clay death whistles, which resemble a human skull and...