Rare 70-Million-Year-Old Massive Dinosaur Skull Unearthed in Canada

A team of international paleontologists unveiled a gigantic rare skull of a horned dinosaur that was unearthed in the Alberta Badlands last October.

Paleontologists at the University of Calgary unveiled a rare dinosaur skull, Thursday. The horned skull, found within the town limits of Drumheller, belonged to the ancient Pachyrhinosaur, the massive horned herbivore that roamed the lands of present day Alberta and Alaska some 70 million years ago.

The specimen was discovered by Darla Zelenitsky, assistant professor at the University of Calgary and a research assistant, during a routine fossil investigation. The horned skull initially looked like a small uneven rock. But with careful analysis the team determined that the skull belonged to the gargantuan pachyrhinosaur.

After confirmations, the research team spent 20 days to retrieve the skull. The team spent a month to carefully remove the rock casing around the skull in the lab

"It is very rare to find such a complete skull specimen of this size and type in the region," Zelenitsky said in a news statement. "Based on our preliminary estimates, the dinosaur's head would have been well over two meters long and was likely of a mature or older individual. The skull of this animal has an enormous bony structure over the snout that would have made for a very strange looking individual."

A similar discovery was made some 50 years ago in the same region where just a partial skull was obtained.

Pachyrhinosaurs (pronounced Pack-ee-rye-no-soar) was a four-legged horned specimen that measured upto six meters in length with its head adorned with large bony bumps and horns. It was known for its large frill at the back of the head that extended over the neck. These features on the head were mostly used for mating purposes or for display and self protection.

"So far, the upper part of the skull has been exposed and the skull will be flipped over to prepare the lower part, including the jaws," explains Zelenitsky. "There are still many months of work necessary in order to clean the entire skull."

This horned specimen will be kept on display at the University of Calgary, after a careful study and cleanup. The skull will be scanned to gather clues on how the pachyrhinosaur changed over a period of time.

"Our initial goal will be to determine if this specimen represents a new species," adds Zelenitsky. "Following that, the specimen will be measured and scanned to help document how the skull of pachyrhinosaurs changed during growth, particularly in the later stages of life. The nature of this discovery will certainly add to our understanding of the biology of pachyrhinosaurs,"

Media sources claim that initial findings indicate that the skull belonged to a mature pachyrhinosaur.

"From the Drumheller area, there are very few pachyrhinosaur skulls that have been collected. There was part of one that was collected over 50 years ago, so this is the first one in 50 years, and we've got a good portion - probably 75 to 80 percent of it," Zelenitsky told the Canadian Press.

The team plans to continue the hunt for more bones of the specimen at the site of the find in the coming months.