A dinosaur fossil discovered in Antarctica in 1985 has been identified as a tail bone from a titanosaur, marking the first dinosaur bone ever found on the continent. The fossil was stored in a drawer for approximately 40 years before its identification, according to reports from the Daily Mail, which stated the specimen was kept in the geology collection of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge.

Titanosaurs are among the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The Daily Mail reported that the fossil dates to the Late Cretaceous, approximately 82 million years ago, and originates from the Santa Marta Formation. Professor Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum in London commented on the discovery, according to the same outlet.

The identification confirms the presence of these massive creatures in Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous period. The fossil's long storage period in a Cambridge collection delayed its recognition as a significant paleontological find until recently.