Daisy Morris, 9, Discovers New Dinosaur And Has It Named After Her

One little girl's odd hobby has led to an extraordinary find for British paleontologists.

At the age of 9, Daisy Morris has discovered a new dinosaur species, which scientists have since named after her. The new creature has been dubbed Vectidraco daisymorrisae, the "Dragon from the Isle of Wight."

Daisy was just 4 when she stumbled upon the fossilized remains of an unknown animal during a family walk on the beach in 2009. The family lives near the coast of England's Isle of Wight -- also known as the "dinosaur capital of Great Britain."

"She has a very good eye for tiny little fossils," her mother Sian Morris told BBC. Daisy apparently first began fossil hunting at age 3. "She found these tiny little black bones sticking out of the mud and decided to dig a bit further and scoop them all out," her mother said.

Story continues after photo.

Realizing that Daisy had possibly uncovered an ancient specimen, her family took the findings to Southampton University's fossil expert Martin Simpson.

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