A new species of dinosaur has been discovered after its fossil sat in a jar in a museum for 20 years. The Bolg amondol, which is named after the goblin from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, was first discovered in 2005, according to New Scientist. However, its fossil sat in a jar in the back of the Natural History Museum of Utah until recently when Hank Woolley spotted it and finally popped off the top.
Woolley, who is the leader author on a new study published in Royal Society Open Science, says, “I opened this jar of bones labeled ‘lizard’ at the Natural History Museum of Utah, and was like, oh wow, there’s a fragmentary skeleton here.”
Woolley says he then went on to identify the new species of dinosaur as a raccoon-sized lizard. The study was published this month, and breaks down the discovery and what we know about B. amondol so far. The species is believed to be an ancient ancestor to modern Gila monsters and is estimated to have roamed the Earth around 76 million years ago.
Finding new species is always an exciting prospect, as it unlocks new information about our planet’s storied past. Sure, we’re still not 100% sure how life on Earth originated, or even if the these creatures would have continued living had Earth not been struck by the asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs. But with this discovery, we unlock a little more of the story.
Woolley says they went with the name of the creature from The Hobbit because he thinks of these lizards as “goblin-like,” especially when looking at their skulls. This is another example of how huge discoveries like this can sometimes go years without being uncovered, as storage can often become bogged down with skeletons in jars and other collection materials.
Still, it’s exciting to see a new species of dinosaur added to the list, especially when it is something that was found somewhere like southern Utah. Back when B. amondol roamed the Earth, Utah would have likely been a sub-tropical region. That’s a marked difference from the often dusty landscapes we know and love today.
