A passionate team of archaeologists has unearthed the astonishing fossil remains of a dinosaur tail in northern Mexico, revealing a 72-million-year-old treasure. This extraordinary discovery, the first of its kind in Mexico, features a tail more than a meter long, exceptionally well preserved, according to Francisco Aguilar, director of the country’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

This paleontological treasure was identified by the team, made up of archaeologists and students from INAH and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, as a feathered dinosaur tail, adding a fascinating chapter to the region’s rich prehistoric history.

The “unusually well-preserved” tail fossil, measuring more than a meter long, was the first find in Mexico. It is 72 million years old.

The tail, found near the small town of General Cepeda, in the state of Coahuila, probably measured up to half the length of the dinosaur, Aguilar said.

Archaeologists found all 50 tail vertebrae completely intact after spending 20 days carefully excavating a layer of sedimentary rock that covered the carnivore’s skeleton.

Stromberg shed more light on the fossils, including one of the dinosaur’s teeth, according to the INAH.

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From Mexico’s rich paleontological heritage, this is the first dinosaur tail found in the country.

Investigations around the tail found bones, including one of the dinosaur’s teeth, according to the INAH.

Scientists have already determined that dinosaurs suffered from tumors and arthritis, for example.

The hadrosaur remains were found by locals in June 2012. After initial inspections, excavations began earlier this month. The remains of the tail will be transferred to General Cepeda for cleaning and future investigations.

An artist’s rendering provided by the National Geographic Society shows what the hadrosaur would have looked like. Most dinosaurs, except hadrosaurs and ceratopsians, were in decline during the last 40 million years of the Cretaceous.