Skeletons and fright at the dinosaur park of Portugal

Children play with the skull of a dinosaur at Dino Park, an open-air museum with over 120 dinosaur models, in Lourinha. Image: AFP / Jose Manuel Ribeiro

Surprising eyes, open mouth, Joel, seven, approaching the monster four meters tall and stands face to face with it. one of the most deadly machines in the world.

The full-size Tyrannosaurus rex is only one of the prehistoric highlights exposed at the "dinosaur capital" of Portugal, a new theme park in one of the richest regions in fossils from Europe. 19659003] "We have 120 large-scale reproductions of 70 different species, spread over 10 hectares," said AFP Simao Mateus, scientific director of Dino Park

Although recently opened, the park is located in part of Portugal is famous for a long time for its fossilized remains.

The nearby town of Lourinha, an hour's drive north of Lisbon, has gone wild with dinosaurs since the remains of a dozen creatures were discovered in the late 19th century. century. [19659003] He already has a museum of dinosaurs and dinosaur statues made of metal or resin can be seen on his roundabouts, while sidewalks are decorated with dinosaur footprints

"Lourinha is very peculiar about its dinosaurs. "

Visitors to the park are greeted by the colt of a giant Supersaurus, one of the largest dinosaur genera, heralding a collection as impressive as all that is 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 The place comes back to two models of dinosaurs actually discovered in the city.

Lourinhasaurus was a sauropod, a huge four-legged herbivore similar to Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus, which roamed the rainforests Western Laurasia about 150 million years ago.

This gentle giant must 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 & # 39;

Mateus says he's interested in the Park started strong, with 175,000 visitors through the gates in the six months since opening, despite a prolonged period of bad weather.

On this visit, against the backdrop of roaring and cries of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, a flock of young schoolchildren marvel at the T-rex, its gigantic jaws capable of engulfing each of them a single bite.

Other small gather around a manikin Iguanodon, a Cretaceous grazer, even though a boy keeps his distance. From the hand of the park's employee, Filipa Pedro, who distributes stone blocks, hammers, scissors and other tools to this new generation of geologists, the experience offers children a look at a lost part for a long time. the past of the planet. 19659003] "Children love dinosaurs, they are like those mysterious creatures that come from their dreams," she says. "Thanks to many drawings and films on the subject, their knowledge is impressive, so this park should please them." JB

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