China says finds fossil of new dinosaur species

BEIJING (Reuters) - Scientists have found the fossil of a new herbivorous dinosaur species that stood five meters (5.5 yards) high and lived 60 million years ago, the official Xinhua agency reported on Thursday.

The large long-necked sauropod, which was found in Eastern Zhejiang province and has not yet been named, was around 15 meters long, the report quoted a museum curator as saying.

In 1977, a 22-meter-long dinosaur was unearthed in the same province, and last year scientists announced they had identified another fossil found there as a new species.

China makes regular finds of rare fossils, which are sometimes smuggled out of the country to be sold for large sums.

Australia recently handed back to Beijing a 100-million-year-old haul of dinosaur eggs that had been illegally taken abroad.

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Mathew Veedon)