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Negev Fossil is Reclassified

March 11, 1993
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A fossil found in the Negev and thought to be the first dinosaur remains ever found in the country was reclassified this week as a lizard.

The fossil was first found by a geological team during a construction project and labeled a 70-million-year-old dinosaur. It reportedly stood five stories high.

But this week, a professor from Hebrew University’s Department of Evolution and Ecology said the bones that were excavated were from a marine lizard that was 67 million years old.

The professor said the original error was a result of Israelis’ inexperience with dinosaurs.

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