THE giant 270kg skull of a dinosaur who last roamed the planet 72million years ago has been unearthed in a bone-filled creek.
Palaeontologists found the incredibly well preserved bone of the adult Pachyrhinosaurus dubbed “Big Sam” underground near Grande Prairie in Alberta, Canada.
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The Pachyrhinosaurus – meaning thick-nosed lizard – was a plant-eating dinosaur that was believed to be the cousin of the iconic Triceratops.
Researchers believe that based off the size of the bones found so far the dinosaur species was the same size as an Indian elephant or a rhino.
Some even believe the adult male Pachyrhinosaurus tipped the scales at around 4,000kg.
The Canadian team that found Big Sam’s 272kg fossilised skull described it as being the same size as a baby elephant.
It resembled a bumpy and bony shape which differentiates it from many other similar species who had a sharp horn on their nose.
I have extracted skulls in the past. This is probably the biggest one I’ve ever done though
Emily Bamforth
Emily Bamforth, a paleontologist at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum who have taken the skull to study, said: “Their distinguishing feature is that, instead of having a horn on their nose like a triceratops, they had this big, bony bump called a boss.
“And they have big, bony bumps over their eyes as well.
“It makes them look a little strange. It’s the one dinosaur that if you find it, it’s the only possible thing it can be.”
Big Sam was actually found over a year ago but due to its size was only removed from the ground on Wednesday.
Another issue with the excavation process saw the large team of palaeontologists notice the skull was intertwined with 300 other bone fragments.
The skull was found upside down “as if the animal was lying on its back,” but remained well preserved, Bamforth said.
It was placed in a protective plaster and surrounded by wooden planks for stability before it was carefully hauled out using a crane.
The team then placed it on a trolley and had to collectively push it back to their truck which was parked up in a clearing through a woods.
Bamforth added: “I have extracted skulls in the past. This is probably the biggest one I’ve ever done though.”
This is the second Pachyrhinosaurus skull to be recovered in the Grand Prairie region along with hundreds of other bones belonging to baby Pachyrhinosaurus’.
A 30-year-old adult was discovered 16 years ago in a similar area to Big Sam and is now sat proudly in the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.
This species of dinosaur is endemic to the Grand Prairie area, so it’s found here and nowhere else in the world
Emily Bamforth
Both of the giant beasts are believed to have been classed as elders in their herds.
Bamforth said: “We have hundreds of juvenile bones in the bonebed, so we know that there are many babies and some adults among all of the big adults.
“This species of dinosaur is endemic to the Grand Prairie area, so it’s found here and nowhere else in the world.”
The Grand Prairie area has become known as a dinosaur bone hotspot in recent decades.
It is believed to be the densest dinosaur bonebed in North America with between 100 to 300 bones per square metre, according to Bamforth.
Despite hundreds of bones now being found each year at the site it was completely untouched up until the 1970s.
A high school teacher wandered across the bonebed around 50 years ago but it took another decade for the first palaeontologists to begin to dig the area.
Ever since they have collected dinosaur, lizard and even turtle bones.
It comes just a month after a girl, 10, discovered 200million-year-old dinosaur footprints while playing on a beach.
Experts believe the five prints near Penarth, South Wales, belonged to a 15ft dino called a camelotia.
Another dinosaur with gigantic blade-like horns that walked the Earth almost 80 million years ago has been discovered in North America this year.
The creature, one of the largest and most ornate dinosaurs ever found, had two massive horns on its back frill and two on its head.
Known as the Lokiceratops rangiformis, the plant-eating species lived in swamps and flooded areas across what is now North America.
It was discovered in northern Montana, just a few miles from the US Canada border.
Why did the dinosaurs die out?
Here’s what you need to know…
- The dinosaur wipe-out was a sudden mass extinction event on Earth
- It wiped out roughly three-quarters of our planet’s plant and animal species around 66million years ago
- This event marked the end of the Cretaceous period, and opened the Cenozoic Era, which we’re still in today
- Scientists generally believe that a massive comet or asteroid around 9 miles wide crashed into Earth, devastating the planet
- This impact is said to have sparked a lingering “impact winter”, severely harming plant life and the food chain that relied on it
- More recent research suggests that this impact “ignited” major volcanic activity, which also led to the wiping-out of life
- Some research has suggested that dinosaur numbers were already declining due to climate changes at the time
- But a study published in March 2019 claims that dinosaurs were likely “thriving” before the extinction event
