A small crowd gathered to watch history as the potentially new species of dinosaur underwent the X-ray. 

The dinosaur fossil was discovered by Bob Foster at Lightning Ridge in the 1980s but it did not receive any attention until very recently.

University of New England lecturer and palaeontologist Phil Bell said the fossil was unlike any specimen ever before documented. 

“Although Lightning Ridge has many fossils, this is the only dinosaur skeleton found in NSW,” Dr Bell said.

Dr Bell said the skeleton was about 110 million years old and  “almost certainly something brand new ... It doesn’t even have a name,” he said.

“We have seen a similar species in Queensland.”

“We think it could have been a fairly large plant-eating dinosaur.”

Dr Bell said the idea behind scanning was to avoid damaging the remains and then use computers to digitally reconstruct and extract data. 

“We are so excited to be part of this dinosaur study,” said Armidale Radiology Regional Manager Nola Ford.

“It’s important to support local research efforts.”