The restoration of dinosaur fossils may have led to the discovery of a new dinosaur species.
The first green dinosaur fossil of its kind has been discovered in southeastern Utah and reconstructed by a team from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC).
National Geographic reports that the 150-million-year-old dinosaur was first discovered in 2007 among a “pile” of various dinosaur bones, including Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, and Camarasaurus.
Dinosaur Quiz! How much do you know about these prehistoric creatures?
The bones collected for the reconstruction don't belong to a single dinosaur, National Geographic reported.
Rather, they are a combination of parts of two or more prehistoric reptiles of the same species discovered at the site.
Paleontologists Luis Chiappe (right) and Pedro Mocho study a Diplodocus model at Research Castings International, a company that recreates real dinosaurs. (Craig Cutler/National Geographic)
The identity of this species has yet to be identified and may be new to the scientific community, but experts believe it belongs to the Diplodocus genus, due to its distinctive long neck and “four sturdy legs.”
New Tyrannosaurus-like dinosaur discovered in Asia
Meanwhile, excavation team members named the dinosaur “Gnathalie” after the dig site was infested with blackflies the first summer it was excavated, National Geographic reported.
For more lifestyle stories, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
From the site where the fossils were prepared, the bones were sent for casting and mounting to Research Casting International (RCI) in Canada, one of the world's largest providers of museum technology services.
Gnatalie then headed to her new showroom in Los Angeles.
Here, in the museum's Los Angeles lab, where it took herbarium preparers years to slice open the mantle and remove the concrete-hard matrix, herbarium preparer Erica Durazo reveals a detailed view of part of the dinosaur's spine. (Craig Cutler/National Geographic)
According to National Geographic, the skeleton of a sauropod, a large herbivorous dinosaur known for its long neck and tail, is the most complete of its kind ever found on the West Coast.
Click here to sign up for our lifestyle newsletter
The dinosaur is 75 feet long (almost twice the length of an average city bus) and weighs about 5 tons.
This is also the world's first green dinosaur skeleton to be exhibited.
The highlight came when RCI technician Kevin Kuldwig placed the skull onto the nearly completed skeleton, which is 75 feet long and weighs about five tons (the dinosaur probably weighed twice that much when alive). (Craig Cutler/National Geographic)
According to National Geographic, the unusual green color was caused by high temperatures during volcanic activity between 80 and 50 million years ago, which caused new green minerals to change the color of the bones.
Click here to get the FOX News app
A multimillion-dollar restoration is set to become the centerpiece of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's new wing in November.
