Monday, February 24, 2014

Massive, Nearly Complete Pachyrhinosaurus Skull From Maastrichtian Cretaceous Alberta

Researchers at the University of Calgary unearthed a gargantuan pachyrhinosaur skull in Alberta’s badlands during a routine fossil search last fall and experts say the skull is a very rare find.

Darla Zelenitsky, assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and a research assistant found the dinosaur skull last October in an area of Drumheller where a partial skull was collected more than half a century ago.

“It is very rare to find such a complete skull specimen of this size in the region," says Zelenitsky. "Based on our preliminary estimates, the dinosaur's head would have been well over two metres long and was likely of a mature or older individual. The skull of this animal has an enormous bony structure over the snout that would have made for a very strange looking individual."

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