A “major” BC discovery involving dinosaurs was made, and it’s one of Jurassic proportions.
The discovery was made in the remote mountains of BC and has uncovered several new findings that researchers were unaware of.
A joint release from the Royal BC Museum and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society revealed that 66 to 68 million-year-old fossils were discovered in an area previously considered home to only one dinosaur species.
“Not only are we finding fossils in the mountains, but the dinosaurs we are finding were living among the mountains, too, which is really different compared to other fossil sites in North America,” said Dr. Victoria Arbour, curator of palaeontology at the Royal BC Museum and lead researcher on the project.
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RCGS
The discovery was made at a 2,000-metre altitude in the Skeena Mountains in Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park. The fossil site is only accessible by helicopter.
Over 90 fossils were found, including teeth belonging to a relative of the T-Rex, teeth belonging to a relative of the Triceratops, bones from a large herbivore, and a foot belonging to a small meat-eater.
Further analysis, including extracting the fossils from concrete-like rock, is needed, but the findings could potentially mean discovering a species unknown to science.
Dinosaurs once roamed parts of BC, and this discovery could help researchers understand more about the specifics of the ones who did.
“This is truly a remarkable discovery that will not only help us to understand more about the dinosaurs who roamed British Columbia but also highlights the remarkable dedication of this team of researchers,” said Royal BC Museum CEO Tracey Drake.
If you’re interested in checking out the fossils, you’ll have to wait a couple of years, including a visit to Colwood, BC.
“Visitors will have the opportunity to observe the research process through viewing windows into the palaeontology lab at PARC Campus.”
The Royal BC Museum says that evidence of dinosaurs in BC can even be found on Vancouver Island, the Kootenays and the Peace Region.
You can read more about dinosaurs in BC here.