Once again, Heyuan City, located in Guangdong Province of China, has proven why it is celebrated as the  "Hometown of the Dinosaur." Recently, state police confiscated 213 dinosaur egg fossils while conducting a raid in a local house. In addition, a complete set of dinosaur skeleton was also confiscated.

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The year 1996 can be earmarked as the year the discovery of dinosaur fossils began in Heyuan City. The city is now popular among paleontologists for its well-preserved oviraptorosaur materials.

In the mid 90s, fossilized eggs were discovered accidentally by four schoolboys while playing at a construction site near their school. Initially, they thought the eggs were stones. However, Huang Dong, a local dinosaur specialist, confirmed that the stones were dinosaur eggs.

In January, a team of paleontologists from the University of Albert confirmed that some bones dug up by Chinese construction workers in 2006, belongs to a long-necked dinosaur or sauropod. The species was named as Qijanglong (dragon of Qijang). Further excavation revealed that the bones were the neck of a long-necked dinosaur which, remarkably, still had its head attached. It is unusual to find both the head and neck of dinosaurs intact because their small heads easily separate after death.

Soon after this revelation, some workers involved in road construction in southern China unearthed 43 dinosaur fossil eggs, including 19 fully intact eggs - the largest being 7 inches long.

The recent confiscation of 213 dinosaur fossils adds to over 17,000 eggs found in the region. The Heyuan Museum received a Guinness World Record in 2004 for having 10,008 dinosaur eggs -- the largest collection anywhere. It now has more than 13,800 eggs. 

Illegal excavations and selling of precious fossils is rife in China. This practice is common in Heyuan because of the availability of fossils.

But this is not the only threat to dinosaur fossils in Heyuan. Construction works in the fast growing city also posses a danger to dinosaur remains.

Du Yanil, director of the city's Dinosaur Museum has recommended that construction projects are stopped whenever fossils are unearthed. He expressed belief that many more fossils are yet to be uncovered in the city's sandstone beds.

In order to encourage research on dinosaur fossils, to preserve the valuable fossils and to create buzz among tourists, authorities allocated 50 million Yuan ($7 million) to the construction of a fossil museum in 2008. This will eventually become part of the city's dinosaur theme park.

TagsHeyuan city, Fossil Eggs Of Dinosaur, Dinosaur Museum, Oviraptor