Paleontologists named a giant fossil Pachyrhinosaurus skull unearthed in Alberta, Canada, “Big Sam.” They have been painstakingly digging for a year to remove this intact skull, which is in a bonebed discovered more than 50 years ago. It is only the second adult Pachyrhinosaurus head from the bonebed thus far.
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The Alberta bonebed has provided a museum of fossils. The discoveries allow paleontologists a unique look into the herd life of extinct dinosaurs. The head is roughly the size of a baby elephant, weighs almost 600 pounds, and is fully intact. It was upside down as if the dinosaur had fallen asleep on its back. Most other skulls of this type have damage and crushing, so this skull’s intact state is a big win.
The Pachyrhinosaurus is a smaller cousin of the triceratops. From Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Emily Bamforth describes the head of the Big Sam fossil: “They had this big, bony bump called a boss. And they had big, bony bumps over their eyes as well.” Working with fossilized remains, artists have created drawings of what the Pachyrhinosaurus may have looked like.
The Big Sam fossil is now at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, where researchers will study the specimen. Unlike previous skulls, the intact skull will provide a wealth of knowledge about the Pachyrhinosaurus. This find’s ability to fill in our knowledge gaps about the animal makes it astonishing.
The Alberta bonebed has already provided a plethora of fossilized remains but is still “one of the densest dinosaur bonebeds in North America.” To extract the Big Sam fossil, paleontologists had to untangle a cluster containing about 300 other bones.
The Alberta bonebed is the gift that just keeps giving!
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