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THE fossilised leg of a dinosaur killed on the day an asteroid wiped out most of the species has been discovered.

The limb, which even has skin, was found with fragments of rocks chemically linked to the mass extinction.

The fossil dates back to the very moment a giant asteroid wiped most species out
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The fossil dates back to the very moment a giant asteroid wiped most species out
The limb, which even has skin, was found with fragments of rocks chemically linked to the mass extinction
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The limb, which even has skin, was found with fragments of rocks chemically linked to the mass extinctionCredit: BBC
Scientists reckon it could be the first physical evidence from the day which marked the end of the dinosaurs’ reign on Earth 66 million years ago
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Scientists reckon it could be the first physical evidence from the day which marked the end of the dinosaurs’ reign on Earth 66 million years ago

Scientists reckon it could be the first physical evidence from the day which marked the end of the dinosaurs’ reign on Earth 66 million years ago.

The experts dug up the remains of the herbivore thescelosaurus at the Tanis site in North Dakota, US.

Broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough who has been filming the dig for the BBC, said: “It was a moment of justification for the whole thing, really.

“This is evidence of the event that caused 75 per cent of species on Earth to disappear.

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“And you have a heart of flint to not have it beat just a little faster when you’re faced with that sort of thing.”

The asteroid the size of Mount Everest crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, causing widespread climate disruption — ending the dinosaurs’ 165 million-year reign.

Dig leader Robert DePalma, of the University of Manchester, said: "This is the most incredible thing that we could possibly imagine here, the best-case scenario.

“The one thing that we always wanted to find in this site, and here we’ve got it.”

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Previous finds in North Dakota include a pterosaur egg containing a baby’s fossilised bones.

BBC documentary Dinosaurs: The Final Day with Sir David Atten­borough is on next Friday.

BBC documentary Dinosaurs: The Final Day with Sir David Atten­borough is on next Friday
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BBC documentary Dinosaurs: The Final Day with Sir David Atten­borough is on next Friday
Full findings will be revealed next Friday
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Full findings will be revealed next Friday

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