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Pachyrhinosaurus bones, teeth among discoveries at Pipestone Creek

Locals shared some unique dinosaur fossil discoveries with professionals from the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum at Pipestone Creek Bonebed, as part of the Palaeontologist for a Day program.

Museum Executive Director Linden Roberts says the discovery was quite thrilling for everyone.

“We opened up the Pipestone Creek Bonebed, which has been worked on since Al Lakusta found the first Pachyrhinosaurus fossils. We then discovered parts of a skull of a baby Pachyrhinosaurus and in the process of preparing to remove that, they found a Tyrannosaur tooth, which is really nice because it’s an indication of other animals in the area.”

A Raptor tooth, a rare mammal tooth, and a tiny insect inside a grain of amber were also found. The Pachyrhinosaurus in the bonebed belongs to the Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai species, which is only located in the South Peace Region and found nowhere else in the world.

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“One of the really exciting things about the bonebed is that there is still so much there. It’s been an opportunity for palaeontologists to study Pachyrhinosaurus growth because there are so many different ages of that species found there,” she explains.

“There are also multiple other fossils that have been found in the region, which helps them understand the diversity of dinosaurs that once lived here, as well as the flora and fauna of the region.”

As the new finds were uncovered, locals from the Palaeontologist for a Day program got to experience them firsthand.

“These are finds in real-time and they’re all very exciting. I don’t think there’s anybody who has missed out on seeing these discoveries for the first time ever, that no one else has seen. It’s really fun for us and them,” she says.

Roberts feels that knowing there is a significant dinosaur history right in our backyard is pretty amazing.

“To me, it’s the coolest thing. It’s really unique to Canada and unique to the world. The dinosaur fossil finds and the potential is so rich here. Most people don’t get to find dinosaur fossils and see footprints, it’s just an amazing thing,” she adds.

There are two remaining sets of dates for the program, which runs from July 18th to 24th, and August 22nd to 28th. Registration is available online. People can also come to the museum and sign up for a guided tour of the bonebed.

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