Romania 2005 "Dinosaurs from Tara Hategului - Romania"

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Issue Date	25.02.2005
ID	Michel: 5908-5911, BL. 350; Scott: 4707-4710, BL: 4710a; Stanley Gibbons: 6489-6492, MS6493; Yvert et Tellier: 4945-4948, 284; Category: pF
Design	Radu OLTEAN
Stamps in set	4
Value	ROL 21.000 - Elopteryx nopcsai ROL 31.000 - Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus ROL 35.000 - Struthiosaurus transilvanicus ROL 47.000 - Hatzegopteryx thambema
Size (width x height)	stamps: 48mm x 33mm Mini-Sheet: 124mm x 120mm
Layout	Sheet of 32 stamps, Mini-Sheet with 4 stamps
Products	FDC x2, MS x1, MC x4
Paper
Perforation	13.5 x 13.5
Print Technique	offset, 4 color
Printed by	Tipografia Postei Romane
Quantity	stamps 66.500, 31.000, 21.000, 21.000; Mini-Sheets: 26.500; FDC: 1.100.
Issuing Authority	Compania Nationala Posta Romana SA

On February 25^th 2005, the Postal Authority of Romania, Romfilatelia, issued the set of stamps "Dinosaurs from Tara Hategului"

The following text was published on the website of Romfilatelia in 2005

Tara Hategului lies between the Retezat Mountains and the Sureanu Mountains and it is well renowned for the beauty of its landscapes, but also for its archaeological and historical vestiges, its old churches and its folk traditions.
The traces of several dinosaurs species discovered here add a certain special interest to this land.
The dinosaurs from Tarac Hategului are famous all around the world and they also appear in the documentaries of the Discovery TV channel due to some peculiar aspects: they made up a last community of herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs, just before the final disappearance of those animals, 65 million years ago.
Furthermore, all the species of this fauna were smaller in size compared to their relatives from other European regions.
It was this specific feature, unique throughout the world, that drew them the name of "the Liliputian dinosaurs of Transylvania".
Their small dimension can be explained by the environment they lived in - an island about the size of Corsica, surrounded by ocean.
Giant reptiles flew above the Liliputian dinosaurs, as a biological paradox which increases the scientific interest raised by this fossil fauna from Tara Hategului.
The places were the bones and the nests with eggs were discovered lie near Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, in the neighborhood of the Densus and Ru de Mori churches, of the Colt Castle and of the Retezat National Parc, this entire mirific region of the country being at present part of a special protected area: The Geoparc of the Tara Hategului Dinosaurs.

Elopteryx nopcsai on stamp of Romania 2005 MiNr.: 5908, Scott: 4707.

Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus on stamp of Romania 2005 MiNr.: 5909, Scott: 4708.

Elopteryx nopcsai is one of the carnivorous Liliputian dinosaurs, skilled runners which hunt in packs. It measured less than one meter in height and weighed around 5 kilos. It may have had feathers on its body because the group it belongs to is near the origin of birds. Its image is illustrated on the postage stamp with a face value of 21,000 lei.

Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, reproduced on the postage stamp with a face value of 31,000 lei, was an herbivorous dinosaur from the "duck-beaked dinosaurs" family, which inhabited the river banks. Besides the remainders of the skeleton, from this dinosaur are also known eggs placed in the nest and bones of the cubs that failed to survive.

Struthiosaurus transilvanicus on stamp of Romania 2005 MiNr.: 5910, Scott: 4709.

Hatzegopteryx thambema on stamp of Romania 2005 MiNr.: 5911, Scott: 4710.

The postage stamp with a face value of 35,000 lei illustrates Struthiosaurus transilvanicus, an herbivorous dinosaur, with plates dispersed on the surface of the skin as a means of defense against attacks by predators. Its size did not exceed 3.5 meters.

Hatzegopteryx thambema, name which translates by "the winged monster of Hateg", belongs to the "Pterosaurus" group, made up of the flying reptiles contemporary with the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era. It was probably the biggest flying animal of all time, with a 3 meters skull length and about a 12 meter wingspan. This Gulliver of the "Liliputian dinosaurs" world is being represented on the postage stamp with the face value of 47.000 lei.

Products and associated philatelic items

FDC		First-Day-of-Issue Postmark
Mini-Sheet	Maxi-Cards

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.

References

• Technical details and short description:
  Romfilatelia (Romanian version contains more details), colnect.

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