One of the largest creatures to walk the earth 155 million years ago has found a new home in The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination.

Emaar has unveiled its latest attraction, a colossal exhibit of the Late Jurassic Period dinosaur, Diplodocus longus, at the mall’s Grand Atrium, which is set to attract visitors from far and wide.

Featuring a long tail sweeping behind, and an equally slender long neck rising eerily high as if bracing for battle, the prehistoric dinosaur stands at an impressive, 24.4 metres long and 7.6 metres high.

The exhibit, open for free viewing for the public, was assembled by an expert team of paleontologists. A dedicated team of staff is on-site to provide visitors with interesting insights into the displayed dinosaur, the discovery of the fossil and the labourious and painstaking process that went into reconstructing it to its present form.

Nearly 90 per cent of the fossil’s bones are original. This skeleton characteristic is very unique in the history of paleontology, given that the most original Diplodocus longus skeleton finding, prior to this, had only 30 per cent of original bones from the overall found structure, said a statement.

Natalie Bogdanova, senior director, business development & operations, Emaar Malls Group, said: “The largest creatures to walk on earth, dinosaurs have been popularised through novels and films. Now, for the first time in Dubai, visitors to The Dubai Mall have the opportunity to witness the mind-blowing magnificence of a life-size dinosaur exhibit, which also has the distinction of being the only one of its kind in the world. The new exhibit is educational, awe-inspiring, and yet another definitive reason to visit our city and the mall.”

Sourced through Khalid Seddiq, founder of Etihad Modern Art Gallery in Abu Dhabi, and previously only displayed at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the dinosaur is the first fossil bone mounted in an upright position. All the bones of the dinosaur on exhibit come from the same individual, giving it an unmatched completeness. Rated high in scientific integrity and beautifully preserved, there are no comparable specimens of this quality in any museum or private collections, it said.

Bogdanova added: “In addition to the dinosaur exhibit, visitors will have the opportunity to have a closer look at the fossil’s structure through a one-metre long original bone on display.”

Discovered in 2008 at the Dana Quarry, near the quaint town of Ten Sleep in north central Wyoming, the specimen represents an adult that belongs to the family of Diplodocidae, and was found in the sleeping position.

The unveiling of the dinosaur exhibit at The Dubai Mall was attended by Raimund Albersdoerfer, the renowned German paleontologist, who has chronicled the features of the exhibit, and Joel Bartsch, president & CEO of Houston Museum of Natural Science. – TradeArabia News Service