Miners In Canada Stumbled Upon One Of The Most Well-Preserved Nodosaur Specimens Ever Discovered, With Paleontologists Dubbing It A Dinosaur Mummy
History often has a way of revealing itself in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times.
In 2011, a heavy equipment operator named Shawn Funk accidentally stumbled across a dinosaur fossil at the Millennium Mine in northern Alberta.
At first, the find seemed to be nothing more than an odd-colored rock, but upon closer inspection, he and his supervisor realized they had something special in their hands.
Six years after the discovery was made, researchers were able to reveal more about the fossil’s background.
The fossil was a piece of skin from a new species of nodosaur. It happened to be one of the most well-preserved nodosaur specimens that had ever been discovered.
The nodosaurus is a type of ankylosaur. It weighed 3,000 pounds and was 18 feet long. The creature was also covered in thick armored plates made out of keratin, the same material as our fingernails.
Due to its remarkable preservation, paleontologists have called the fossil “a dinosaur mummy.” The dinosaur was 110-million-years old, making it the oldest to have ever been found in Alberta.
It has also helped experts learn more about what the dinosaur looked like and how it protected itself from predators.
When researchers analyzed the fossil, they detected tiny bits of red pigment. It can be assumed that at least part of the creature was red in color, which was a trait that may have helped it attract mates.
paulacobleigh – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
According to Caleb Brown, a curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the pigment appeared to be concentrated on the animal’s back, allowing it to blend in with the surrounding environment.
The dinosaur’s armor was clearly a method of defense, but the elaborate horns protruding from the front of its body seemed to have dual purposes.
If necessary, they could have been used in defense, but mostly, they acted as indicators of status and strength, making them desirable to potential mates.
After examining the location where the fossil was found, the researchers determined that the nodosaurus had drifted out to sea and then come to rest on its back in the muck of the sea floor, which was how it was able to be preserved so well. While buried in sediment, its body was protected from decay and water pressure.
The remnants of its last meal even managed to remain in its stomach. The dinosaur’s last meal consisted of ferns and twigs that appeared to be in mid-growth.
This suggested that they were eaten during the wet season when heavy rainfall and extreme flooding might have occurred.
The nodosaur was not built for swimming, and the high water levels could have caught it by surprise, leading to it being swept away in a strong torrent.
The nodosaurus is on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta. The exhibit places an emphasis on how collaboration between paleontologists and industries can result in extraordinary fossil findings.
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