Today we celebrate another fossildiscovery that appears to be extraordinary. We believe it is a three dimensional ankylosaur protected by a casing ofharder rock. Most likely it sankdirectly into the ooze and was quickly fossilized. Theexistence of tendons alone suggests that we may be even able to trace softtissue forms.
One takes luck wherever one findsit and this is a very lucky find that is worth following as it is likely athrove of new knowledge.
The same mechanisms that preservemarine fossils went to work on this particular LAND critter. We will not be finding many of these.
Rare fossil find
Oilsands worker uncovers 'earliest, most complete' dinosaur in Alberta
POSTMEDIA NEWS MARCH 27, 2011
A series of unlikely events over a span of 113 million years hasresulted in the discovery of what may be the oldest dinosaur remains in Alberta
On Monday afternoon, a shovel operator at a Suncor oilsands mine sitenoticed what looked like brown discs in the black rock on a small cliff he wasexcavating. Per Suncor's policy, operator Shawn Funk shut off his machinery andreported that he'd found something unusual.
"It was really like finding a needle in a haystack," saidSuncor spokeswoman Lanette Lundquist.
The area remained closed to work while Suncor took pictures of thecurious find and sent them to the Royal Tyrrell Museum
There, Don Henderson, the curator of dinosaurs, thought it could be theremains of a marine reptile, not an uncommon find in an area that used to beunderwater.
He thought he could see a fossilized flipper. On Tuesday, Henderson andanother Tyrrell employee travelled to the site, 50 kilometres north of Fort McMurray
"After about 10 minutes, we realized it was somethingdifferent," Henderson
"This thing is in a giant lump, about 85 per cent of it is stillin the hill," he said.
"This is a perfectly preserved three dimensional fossil. This isthe earliest, most complete find in Alberta
Henderson believes the bones belong to an ankylosaur, an armouredherbivore covered in plates and spikes, with "wimpy little teeth."
When alive, it was roughly five metres long and two metres wide.
On average, dinosaurs found in Alberta are 65 million to 75 million years old, while this find is likely 113million years old, Henderson
The location and structure of the find are highly unlikely. Forstarters, an ankylosaur was a terrestrial animal -this one ended up in an areathat was 150 km from any land at the time of its death. The dinosaur likelydied and was swept to sea before sinking.
The remains likely began to fossilize within days or even hours,forming a "bombproof" protective crust that lasted until Funkuncovered it.
Henderson praised Funk, who had just toured the Tyrrell last week, forhis caution. A massive shovel like Funk uses could easily destroy a fossilwithout anyone ever knowing, Henderson
"This was just a series of very unlikely events," Henderson
Lundquist said the area of the Suncor site will remain closed until allof the fossil is excavated. A meeting will be held Monday to determine the bestway to do that. Once those parts have come loose, they will be taken toDrumheller on a flatbed truck.
The bulk of the fossil is sticking out from the side of a 3.5-metrecliff. Workers will sift through the rubble below for any smaller pieces.
"This crust is very good to protect the fossil, but it will be verydifficult to prepare over the next two to three years. It's worth it, though,for what we'll learn," Henderson
Such a complete skeleton of an ankylosaur has never been found before;it's expected to provide new scientific information as it is uncovered by tinypneumatic drills and air-driven tools. That work will have to be careful, Henderson
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