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.
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.
The identity of this species has yet to be determined and it may be new to the scientific community, but experts believe it may belong to the Diplodocus genus, based on its distinctive long neck and “four sturdy legs.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A multimillion-dollar restoration is set to become the centerpiece of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's new wing in November.
