Unusually colorful fossils found in Australia belong to a stunning new species of plant-eating dinosaur, scientists report today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The remains not only belong to the first herd or family group of dinosaurs discovered in the country, they also represent the most complete dinosaur fossil yet found preserved in opal.

Discovered near the town of Lightning Ridge, about 450 miles northwest of Sydney, the hundred-odd bones have a rare blue-grey hue with occasional flashes of brilliant gem-quality color. Lightning Ridge is famous for yielding fossils hewn from often brightly colored opal, a gemstone that forms over long periods from the concentration of silica-rich solutions underground. But finding a whole new dinosaur species is remarkable.

“Any time