At this year's Index, visitors will have the rare opportunity to see a full size dinosaur skeleton on display, courtesy of London's Ammonite 2000 gallery.

The Gorgosaurus or  'Fearsome Lizard' measures over 25 feet long and is the slightly smaller and longer limbed cousin of the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Index, the Middle East's International Furniture and Interior Design Exhibition, takes place from November 1 to 5, 2007, at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

Dale Rogers, owner of Ammonite 2000 Ltd., has been scouring the world for rare and beautiful fossils since 1988. His travels have taken him to North Africa, the Himalayas, Indonesia, Madagascar, US, Europe, Far East and Australia in search of fossils, crystals and minerals, said an official spokesman.

In his two London galleries, the huge collection of geographical wonders he has amassed, including 55 million year old fossil fish from Wyoming, dinosaur eggs from China and Jurassic ammonites, are on display.

In a completely new venture, Ammonite has now started to produce intricate replicas.  The expertly built replica of the Linster Gorgosaurus to be shown at Index has been produced by casting each bone individually, hand painting and finishing them to the exact colour of the original skeleton and then re-assembling the bones within a hidden metal framework.

This superb specimen is one of the most complete dinosaurs ever unearthed, not only does it contain features never seen on any other dinosaur but almost every bone tells a story of its life, with broken and healed bones, active infections and the first documented case of a dinosaur brain tumour.

"This year we are bringing something very special to Dubai," said manager of Ammonite 2000 Ltd Steve Walker.

"Up until now we're been dealing in real fossils and rare and interesting minerals. But the last time we were in Dubai we had the idea of bringing a life size dinosaur over and have now spent the last 10 months planning and preparing this very exciting venture," he added.
 
As well as the dinosaur, Ammonite will have a stand within the British section where a good selection of Ammonites, fossil fish and real dinosaur bones will be on display, as well as a huge replica T. Rex skull, which is a real eye catcher.

Index 2007 sees the event celebrating 17 highly successful years in the region. Internationally acknowledged as one of the world's most important showcases in its field,   visitors will be able to view the very best in all key product areas - furniture, textiles, flooring, wall coverings, window products, lighting, kitchens, bathrooms, ceramics, interior architecture, accessories, interior design services and furniture production. As well as dinosaurs of course!

Ammonite will be on stand 3A 135. - TradeArabia News Service