The fossils were being sold in Henan province as "dragon bones" at about 4 yuan (US$0.50) per kilogram, the Associated Press reported scientist Dong Zhiming as saying.
Dong, a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said when the villagers found out the bones were from dinosaurs they donated 200 kilograms to him and his colleagues for research.
"They had believed that the ‘dragon bones’ were from the dragons flying in the sky," he said.
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