Recently, “Chinese dragon fossils” were on display at the Xiawei Ancient Life Fossil Museum in Anshun, Guizhou.
When archaeologists initially removed the clay from the fossil, they discovered that the dragon had a pair of horns on its head, and that the shape of the dragon closely resembled the legendary creature often recounted in novels.
Dragons have often appeared in Chinese legends. The dragon with two horns on its head is considered a totem. The totem was first invented by Chinese ancestors and worshipped by the Chinese people. Therefore, the Chinese are also called the “descendants of the dragon”.
Long ago, experts believed that dragons were fictional creatures that only existed in books.
The dragon fossil was discovered in 1996 in Guanling County, Anshun City, and has been well preserved. It is 7.6 meters long. It has a head of 76 centimeters long and a neck of 54 centimeters long. The body length is 2.7 meters and the width is 68 centimeters, while the tail length is 3.7 meters.
The dragon's head is shaped like a triangle. Its mouth is 43 centimeters long. The widest part of the head is 32 centimeters long. The horns protrude from the widest part of the head, and are symmetrical and 27 centimeters long. They are slightly curved and tilted, making the fossil look very similar to the legendary dragon.
The Chinese dragon was a reptilian animal that lived in the ocean in the Triassic Period about 200 million years ago. It was an amphibian. It spent most of its time living in the water, although it sometimes walked on land. It also laid eggs on land. The animal lived on fish and small reptiles.
This is the first time that China has found a dragon fossil with a pair of horns. Its discovery provides some evidence to prove that dragons could really have horns. The fossil provides important scientific information for people to trace the origin of the legendary Chinese dragon.