Paleontologists unearth giant skull of Pachyrhinosaurus in northern Alberta

By The Canadian Press on September 25, 2024.

Paleontologists prepare a large dinosaur skull for excavation in northern Alberta on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. The thick and more-than-a-metre-long skull of a herbivorous dinosaur that roamed northern Alberta about 17 million years ago and is known for big, bony bumps on its face was to be removed from a dense bone bed on Wednesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum *MANDATORY CREDIT *

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. – A giant skull from a rare dinosaur that’s about the size of a baby elephant is being excavated in northern Alberta.

Emily Bamforth, the paleontologist leading the excavation, says the skull of the adult Pachyrhinosaurus weighs about 272 kilograms.

It’s estimated to be 72 million years old.

Bamforth says the dinosaur species has only been discovered in the same area of the dig site near Grand Prairie, about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

The Pachyrhinosaurus is the smaller, older cousin of the triceratops and is known for the bumps on its nose and over its eyes.

Bamforth says the dinosaur was found in a dense bone bed where a herd died together.