In the 15 fields, other new genera of ankylosaurus, tyrannosaurus and ceolurus were also found, Xu Xing, a researcher with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, said.

Among the discoveries are gigantic bones of the largest-known hadrosaurus, which are expected to be restored into a complete skeleton 10 meters in height and over 20 meters long. This giant hadrosaurus under restoration breaks the record of another hadrosaurus unearthed in Zhucheng in 1990, which is 9.1 meters tall and 16.6 meters long.

A 2-meter W-shaped skull of a large ceratopsian was also found, the first large fossil of this vegetarian dinosaur unearthed outside North America, Xu told Xinhua. Zhao said although ceratopsian fossils can be easily recognized by features of the skull, it is still too early to tell how many horns this one had.

Zhao said the fossils had only the slimmest chance of surviving so many years. According to current research, the region might have been a watery area with abundant grass. That would have made it an ideal habitat for "duck-billed" dinosaurs, Zhao said. The geologists said there might have been a volcanic eruption that was fatal to the dinosaurs and later a flood that brought the fossils to their resting place.

Research on the findings will be published at the end of 2009, he said. Two new dinosaur fossil parks, occupying a total area of 400 hectares, are expected to be completed in 2011.

The first dinosaur fossil discovered was an Iguanodon tooth found by stone quarry workers in England in the 1920s. They sold it to Gideon Mantell, a local doctor and fossil collector, who named it Iguanodon.

Chinese archaeologists have ramped up exploration efforts in recent years, making regular finds. In early December, scientists in Ruyang County, central Henan Province, discovered large dinosaur fossils there. The biggest fossil measured 3.3 meters long and 2.3 meters wide. According to the scientists, this dinosaur was much larger than the one found in the same county in July 2007, which was identified as Asia's heaviest dinosaur. The former record holder was a fossilized dinosaur unearthed in the northwestern Province of Gansu in 2007.

In fossil-rich Ruyang, local farmers used to call dinosaur fossils "dragon bones" and use ground fossil powder to treat injuries or muscle cramps. According to a report in Oriental Morning Post in 2007, fossil hunting by farmers in Ruyang has caused enormous damage to local fossil deposits.