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CBS News
2 days ago
- Science
- CBS News
Denver Museum of Nature & Science showing off dinosaur fossil found in parking lot; oldest in city's history
One of Colorado's most astonishing and coincidental fossil discoveries was found earlier this year, right beneath the parking lot of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, museum officials announced last week. While drilling for a geothermal tap in January, museum scientists decided to take the opportunity to study what lay below the surface. To their surprise, they hit something unexpected: a dinosaur bone. Patrick O'Connor, director of Earth and space sciences at the museum, recalled the moment vividly. "He said, 'there's a fossil in the core,'" O'Connor said. "Really?" What makes the discovery so improbable is how precisely the fossil had to be struck. Crews had to drill in just the right spot, at just the right depth, and then puncture the bone with a core bit only a couple of inches wide. "In the mud was this," O'Connor said, referring to the sample. "It looks like a piece of dinosaur bone." Regardless of its appearance, researchers confirmed that it's the oldest and deepest fossil ever found in Denver. "Given the age of the rocks where this was found, it's estimated to be about 67 million years ago," O'Connor said. "There were not a number of large animals on the surface of the planet at that time other than dinosaurs." "In my 35 years at the museum, we've never had an opportunity quite like this, to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision," said Earth Sciences Research Associate Bob Raynolds. "That this fossil turned up here, in City Park, is nothing short of magical." Although scientists don't yet know which specific species it belonged to, they've narrowed it down to a group of plant-eating dinosaurs based on the bone's structure. "The bones that make up their backbone are constructed differently," O'Connor said. "So even though we can't tell you all of the details about it just by looking at the structure of the bone, we know it pertains to one group of plant-eating dinosaurs." The fossil is now on display in the museum's "Teen Rex" exhibit. "Everyone can discover," O'Connor said. "Everyone can participate in science."
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Science
- USA Today
Denver museum discovers nearly 70-million-year-old fossil under parking lot
A museum in Denver has found a fossil that is almost 70 million years old under its parking lot while running an unrelated drilling project. "This may be the most unusual dinosaur discovery I have ever been a part of," said Patrick O'Connor, director of Earth & Space Sciences at the Museum, in a statement. In January, the museum conducted a geothermal test drilling project to see if it was possible to switch from natural gas to geothermal energy, according to a press release published on the museum's website. "At that time, the team took the opportunity to carry out a scientific coring research initiative to help researchers better understand the geology of the Denver Basin," the press release stated. "The coring investigation led to the unexpected discovery of a nearly [70 million-year-old] dinosaur fossil." The discovery, a partial-bone fossil that was identified as a vertebra of a herbivorous dinosaur, is on display in the 'Discovering Teen Rex' exhibition on the museum floor. 'In my 35 years at the Museum, we've never had an opportunity quite like this — to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision," Bob Raynolds, a longtime Earth Sciences Research Associate, said in a statement. "That this fossil turned up here, in City Park, is nothing short of magical.' More news: Pterosaur fossil discovered in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park fills gap in record Where was the fossil located? The fossil was found 763 feet below the surface of the museum's parking lot near the city's largest park, City Park, which also contains the Denver Zoo. It "has been identified as the deepest and oldest dinosaur fossil ever found within the city limits," according to the museum. What did the fossil belong to? The museum only states that the fossil likely belonged to a plant-eating dinosaur that walked on two legs. But, it looks very similar to one belonging to a Thescelosaurus from the latest Cretaceous Period. Remains of the dinosaur have been found in Canada and the U.S., according to the Natural History Museum in London. The dinosaur, which name means "wonderful lizard," would have been nearly as tall as the average man and been around 10-12 feet long, or 3.5 meters. How old was the fossil? The bones were found in rock from the Late Cretaceous period, and are dated to be around 67.5 million years ago. 'This fossil comes from an era just before the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, and it offers a rare window into the ecosystem that once existed right beneath modern-day Denver," James Hagadorn, curator of geology at the Museum, said in a statement. It was a small ornithopod, which means a bipedal dinosaur with only three functional toes, according to Mirriam-Webster. Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@
Miami Herald
10-07-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Dinosaur bone found under CO museum parking lot. See 67.5-million-year-old fossil
A team uncovered a partial dinosaur bone under a museum's parking lot, Colorado officials said. It all started with a 'geothermal feasibility project in the spring of 2024,' the Denver Museum of Nature and Science said in a July 9 News release. The team had goals of drilling hundreds of feet below the surface with hopes to use 'the Earth's internal energy to heat and cool the museum,' researchers said. But, what the museum didn't take into account during the project was it being led by scientists, making 'the urge to survey and study what's down there' 'irresistible,' researchers said. The team began drilling over 763 feet below the museum's parking lot when they came across a 'major dinosaur discovery,' the museum said on Facebook. Researchers found an 'ancient bedrock from the Late Cretaceous Period,' which didn't shock scientists – until they learned it contained a 67.5-million-year-old partial dinosaur bone, officials said. 'It's basically like winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning on the same day,' James Hagadorn, curator of geology at the museum said in the release. 'No one could have predicted that this little square foot of land where we started drilling would actually contain a dinosaur bone beneath it!' The rock contained partial vertebrae of a 'plant-eating dinosaur, similar to a Thescelosaurus or Edmontosaurus,' researchers said. This marks the 'deepest and oldest dinosaur fossil ever found within' the city's limits, officials said. Smaller dinosaurs, like that of the Thescelosaurus, were 'agile and alert' hiding from their Tyrannosaurus rex predator and when the animals died, their remains would get buried into sediment that turned to rock after being carried through bodies of water, researchers said. 'In my 35 years at the Museum, we've never had an opportunity quite like this — to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision. That this fossil turned up here, in City Park, is nothing short of magical,' Earth sciences research associate Bob Raynolds said in the release. For those who want to see the fossil, the museum has curated a display.
Axios
09-07-2025
- Science
- Axios
Dinosaurs once roamed Denver's City Park
Back in the Late Cretaceous era, 67.5 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed Denver's modern-day City Park. The intrigue: The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, on the eastern edge of the park, announced Wednesday it unexpectedly discovered a partial-bone fossil 763 feet below the surface of its parking lot. What they did: The discovery occurred when the museum conducted a drilling test this January to see if it could tap geothermal energy and took core samples down 1,000 feet into the ground. What they found: Museum scientists later identified the fossil as part of a vertebra from a plant-eating dinosaur, similar to a Thescelosaurus or Edmontosaurus. What they're saying: "In my 35 years at the museum, we've never had an opportunity quite like this — to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision," Earth sciences research associate Bob Raynolds said in a statement. "That this fossil turned up here, in City Park, is nothing short of magical."
