Fossilised bones unearthed at construction site in suburban Denver belong to a large adult triceratops, palaeontologists say.
Builders discovered the collection of bones, believed to date as far back as 68 million years ago, several weeks ago.
Experts from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science were brought in to study the dinosaur bones further.
They have now reported back, confirming that the partial skeleton found at the site included a limb bone and several ribs of the three-horned dinosaur.
Fossilised bones unearthed at construction site in suburban Denver belong to a large adult triceratops, palaeontologists say. Builders discovered the collection of bones (pictured), believed to date as far back as 68 million years ago, several weeks ago
Experts from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science were brought in to study the dinosaur bones further and confirmed it to be the iconic animal due to the limb bones (pictured) and some ribs
The bones were found at a construction site near a retirement community in Highlands Ranch in May in a rock layer that dates back 65 million to 68 million year. Ribs (pictured) of the animal were found at the site
The bones were found at a construction site near a retirement community in Highlands Ranch in May in a rock layer that dates back 65 million to 68 million years.
Construction crews are using heavy equipment to dig a deep trench in search for other dinosaur fossils next to the area where the triceratops bones were found.
Of all the dinosaur bones discovered in Colorado, the remains of triceratops have been among the most common, the museum says.
‘It’s always exciting to get a call about possible fossils, and I can’t wait to share more details as we continue to dig,’ Dr Tyler Lyson, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the museum, said in a written statement.
‘Finds like this, while relatively rare, are a great reminder of how dynamic our planet is and how much more there is out there to discover.’
Dr Lyson studies the evolution of dinosaurs and turtles and is particularly interested in what was occurring in the Rocky Mountain region 66 to 68 million years ago, which is the age of the rock layer where the fossils are embedded.
Since the discovery occurred at an active construction site, Dr Lyson and his team have worked closely with Wind Crest and Brinkmann, the firm behind the dig, to safely explore the site and document the fossils.
Construction has continued while the Museum team worked to determine the number and type of fossils.
Construction crews are using heavy equipment to dig a deep trench in search for other dinosaur fossils next to the area where the triceratops bones were found
Of all the dinosaur bones discovered in Colorado, the remains of triceratops have been among the most common, the museum says, but it is still an ‘exciting’ find
Since the discovery occurred at an active construction site, researchers worked closely with Wind Crest and Brinkmann, the firm behind the dig, to safely explore the site and document the fossils
Construction has continued while the Museum team worked to determine the number and type of fossils, often resulting many people to move and life the rocks and bones
Colorado is a hotbed for fossil finds with thousands of bones found in the state. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has close to 115,000 dinosaur, plant, and mammal fossils in its collections
At Dinosaur Ridge, a famous natural landmark located along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, famous Jurassic dinosaur bones have been uncovered. That includes a stegosaurus and apatosaurus, discovered in 1877, and Cretaceous dinosaur footprints
An unidentified bone, found at the Coors’ Field baseball stadium while it was under construction in 1995, led to its home team the Colorado Rockies adopting a dinosaur as their mascot. More recently, in 2017, bones belonging to a triceratops relative, the torosaurus, were discovered at a Denver construction site
Triceratops dinosaurs were herbivorous and had two big horns over their eyes and a smaller nose horn, as well as a parrot-like beak and a large frill that could reach nearly 1 meter (3 feet) across
Colorado is a hotbed for fossil finds with thousands of bones found in the state.
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has close to 115,000 dinosaur, plant, and mammal fossils in its collections.
At Dinosaur Ridge, a famous natural landmark located along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, famous Jurassic dinosaur bones have been uncovered.
That includes a stegosaurus and apatosaurus, discovered in 1877, and Cretaceous dinosaur footprints.
An unidentified bone, found at the Coors’ Field baseball stadium while it was under construction in 1995, led to its home team the Colorado Rockies adopting a dinosaur as their mascot.
More recently, in 2017, bones belonging to a triceratops relative, the torosaurus, were discovered at a Denver construction site.