# Are there dinosaurs in every country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784 "2021-03-26T16:07:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/1 "2021-03-26T16:07:42Z")
As I understand it, dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent, including Antarctica. But have they been found within the borders of every modern-day country (excluding microstates like the Vatican)? If not, which countries haven’t uncovered any dinosaurs, and why? (That is, is it just a question of no paleontologists having worked there yet, or are there geological or other reasons for why there couldn’t have been any dinosaurs living there in the distant past?) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/2 "2021-03-26T16:19:51Z")
Iceland I don’t think has any but didn’t coexist with dinosaurs. Play with this map, it is all kinds of fun. Filter it down to Dinosauria. > **[PBDB Navigator](https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/)** There appears to be some countries with no finds reported. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/3 "2021-03-26T16:28:46Z")
I was just about to post about Iceland. The rocks of Iceland only emerged after 18 million years ago, so the country was formed too late to include any dinosaurs. The island of Java also seems to be entirely post-dinosaur in origin, but Java is only a segment of the country of Indonesia. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/4 "2021-03-26T16:35:22Z")
I was thinking Iceland as well. The Philippines comes to mind - any island nation whose geography did not exist prior to 65mya would not have any dinosaur remains. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/5 "2021-03-26T16:46:17Z")
I was going to say Norway qualifies, if one excludes Svalbard, but apparently they’ve found some crushed bones while drilling in the North sea, so you’d have to exclude the continental shelf as well. [Plateosaurus dinosaur](http://dinosaurfact.net/Triassic/Plateosaurus.php) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/6 "2021-03-26T20:15:54Z")
I don’t think there are dinosaurs in Kuwait. I recall that when I visited the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in Utah\* that they bragged about all the countries where allosaur skeletons had been sent. The museum in Kuwait was one of these. I thought at the time that it was nice for us to be sending a dinosaur skeleton after they sent all the oil. It seemed an equitable trade. and they probably didn’t have any dinosaurs of their own. A quick internet search reveals no credible claims of dinosaur fossils in Kuwait, and there are finds on the Arabian peninsula. But Kuwait is pretty small. I’ll bet Aby Dhabi and the UAE don’t have any, either. \*The world’s greatest source of Allosaurus skeletons, among others. It’s thought that it was a prehistoric mudhole that trapped large herbivores and then caught the predators that came to eat the trapped beasts, much as the La Brea tar pits trapped predators and prey. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/7 "2021-03-26T20:21:28Z")
I take it we’re not counting the ubiquitous modern dinosaurs? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/8 "2021-03-26T20:24:16Z")
Well the OP specifies “fossils” and refers to countries not having “uncovered any dinosaurs”, so I think even “I found some sparrows under this bush” are out. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/9 "2021-03-26T20:49:03Z")
You can add a bunch of Pacific island states to the list as well. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/10 "2021-03-26T21:01:44Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Well the OP specifies “fossils” and refers to countries not having “uncovered any dinosaurs”, so I think even “I found some sparrows under this bush” are out But Iceland could have fossils that are less than 18 million years old, like a Great Auk or something ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/11 "2021-03-26T21:03:21Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > like a Great Auk or something They do in fact. But I’m pretty sure the Op was talking about ancient dinosaurs, not birds. (avian dinos) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/12 "2021-03-26T21:16:14Z")
AIUI, the Himalayas were under the Tethys Ocean when the meteor hit. Nepal and Tibet have lots of fossil sea creatures, but no dinos. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/13 "2021-03-26T21:36:10Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > But Iceland could have fossils that are less than 18 million years old, like a Great Auk or something > [@What\_Exit](#): > > They do in fact. But I’m pretty sure the Op was talking about ancient dinosaurs, not birds. (avian dinos) “Fossils” means remains that have undergone certain transformations, not just old bones found in the ground. I don’t think Iceland has any of those either. (But I’m not a paleontologist.) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/14 "2021-03-26T21:39:34Z")
According to this [Fossils of Iceland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossils_of_Iceland) there are some fossils, but no dinosaurs (or birds) are mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/15 "2021-03-26T21:56:31Z")
Yes, I’m using the term “dinosaur” in the colloquial, non-cladistic sense. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/16 "2021-03-26T22:07:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t think there are dinosaurs in Kuwait. Chevron begs to differ, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/w0B0t_4MTuM/hqdefault.jpg "Chevron - Dinosaur (1977, USA)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0B0t_4MTuM) ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/17 "2021-03-26T22:48:20Z")
> [@naita](#): > > According to this [Fossils of Iceland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossils_of_Iceland) there are some fossils, but no dinosaurs (or birds) are mentioned. Your link actually does mention some birds: Little of terrestrial remains have been discovered since last [glaciation](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaciation). However, a [molar](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molar_(tooth)) from a [polar bear](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear) was found in about 13,000 years old sedimentary strata at Röndin near [Kópasker](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B3pasker). _Footprints by an aquatic bird have been found at [Ellidaár](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elli%C3%B0a%C3%A1r) river near Reykjavik and a bone from a [common eider](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_eider)_ in marine sedimentary strata in Melabakkar in Melasveit. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/18 "2021-03-26T23:33:50Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > AIUI, the Himalayas were under the Tethys Ocean when the meteor hit. Nepal and Tibet have lots of fossil sea creatures, but no dinos. Must be true for the Alps region too, mustn’t it? Though there is no single country that lies completely in the Alps, with Switzerland mabye the closest. But I’m sure there have been dino fossils found in other Swiss regions. Heck, the Jura mountains are in Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/19 "2021-03-26T23:44:30Z")
Too late to edit: I just thought of a state that lies completely in the Alps: Liechtenstein. But the OP excluded dwarf states, so it doesn’t count. Same with Andorra, another state that lies in mountains that were formed by tectonic activity that happened later than dinos, at least I suppose so. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784/20 "2021-03-27T01:02:54Z")
A quick Google search says that the alps were formed 770 million years ago. They are certainly old enough for dino fossils. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-dinosaurs-in-every-country/938784.md?page=2)