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Eyes bulging, mouth open, Joel, seven, approaching the monster four meters tall and stands face to face with one of the deadliest killing machines that the world has never known.
The life-size Tyrannosaurus rex is only one of the prehistoric highlights exposed in the self-proclaimed "dinosaur capital" of Portugal, a new theme park located in one of the most richer in fossils from Europe.
"We have 120 large-scale reproductions of 70 different species, spread over 10 hectares (24.7 acres)," said AFP Simao Mateus, scientific director of Dino Park.
Although recently opened, the park is in a part of Portugal long known among paleontologists for its extraordinary range of fossilized remains.
The nearby town of Lourinha, an hour's drive north of Lisbon, has gone wild with dinosaurs since the discovery of the remains of a dozen creatures in the late nineteenth century.
He already has a museum of dinosaurs and dinosaur statues made of metal or resin can be seen on his roundabouts, while the sidewalks are decorated with dinosaur footprints
"Lourinha is very special about his dinosaurs. "The new facility, said Mateus.
Visitors to the park are greeted by the breeding collar of a giant Supersaurus supermodel – one of the largest dinosaur genres – announcing a collection as impressive as any whats else in Europe.
Imported from Germany, resin statues are scattered on a forest road guiding paleontologists in grass through the ages when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
The pride of place comes back to two dinosaur models actually discovered in the city.
Lourinhasaurus was a sauropod – a huge four-legged herbivore similar to Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus – that roamed the rainforests of western Laurasia about 150 million years ago.
This gentle giant should not be confused with Lourinhanosaurus, a sharp and clever hunter the size of a crocodile who lived about the same time as Lourinhasaurus.
"Creatures of Their Dreams"
Mateus says that interest in the park has started strong, with 175,000 visitors through the gates for six months, despite an extended period of bad weather.
During this visit, amidst roars and cries of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, a troupe of young schoolchildren marveled at the T-rex, its gigantic jaws capable of engulfing everyone. from them all in one go.
Other small gather around a model of Iguanodon – a grazer of the Cretaceous era – although a boy keeps his distance with the giant spiky thumb of the reptile.
Filipa Pedro, a park employee who distributes stone blocks, hammers, scissors and other tools to this new generation of geologists, offers children a glimpse of a lost part of the past of the planet.
"Children love dinosaurs, they are like those mysterious creatures that come from their dreams," she says.
"Thanks to many cartoons and films on the subject, their knowledge is impressive, so this park can only please them."
Learn more:
Two dinosaurs each sell more than 1.4 million euros in Paris
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