By -- - ABC NEWS
Added: Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:37:52 UTC

German paleontologists have discovered what they believe is the best-preserved dinosaur skeleton ever found in Europe. Some 98 percent of the fossil found in the southern state of Bavaria is intact, and it will soon be placed on display for a short time in Munich.

The discovery of young, unnamed dinosaur fossils is rare, but on Wednesday researchers in southern German state of Bavaria announced they had uncovered an almost perfect specimen. The flesh-eating member of the theropod subgroup, which walked on its hind legs, is among the best preserved specimens of its kind worldwide, said Oliver Rauhut, conservator of Bavaria's state paleontological and geological collections (BSPG) in Munich.

The fossil found in the central Bavarian community of Kelheim is about 98 percent complete, and also includes preserved bits of skin. "The around 135-million-year-old fossil is of outstanding scientific importance," dinosaur expert Rauhut told the German news agency DPA.

A number of similar fossils have been found in China, he said, but they are not as well-preserved. "From far away they often look complete," he said. "But up close one sees that the bone preservation is not that great."

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TAGGED: BIOLOGY, PALEONTOLOGY