Researchers look a dinosaur in its remarkably preserved face - Ars Technica

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Borealopelta mitchelli found its mode backmost into the sunlight successful 2017, millions of years aft it had died. This armored dinosaur is truthful magnificently preserved that we tin spot what it looked similar successful life. Almost the full animal—the skin, the armor that coats its skin, the spikes on its side, astir of its assemblage and feet, adjacent its face—survived fossilization. It is, according to Dr. Donald Henderson, curator of dinosaurs astatine the Royal Tyrrell Museum, a one-in-a-billion find.

Beyond its singular preservation, this dinosaur is an important cardinal to knowing aspects of Early Cretaceous ecology, and it shows however this taxon whitethorn person lived wrong its environment. Since its remains were discovered, scientists person studied its anatomy, its armor, and adjacent what it ate successful its past days, uncovering caller and unexpected penetration into an carnal that went extinct astir 100 cardinal years ago.

Down by the sea

Borealopelta is simply a nodosaur, a benignant of four-legged ankylosaur with a consecutive process alternatively than a process club. Its uncovering successful 2011 successful an past marine situation was a surprise, arsenic the carnal was terrestrial.

A land-based megaherbivore preserved successful an past seabed is not arsenic uncommon arsenic 1 mightiness think. A number of different ankylosaurs person been preserved successful this manner, albeit not arsenic good arsenic Borealopelta. Scientists fishy its carcass whitethorn person been carried from a stream to the oversea successful a flooding event; it whitethorn person bobbed astatine the aboveground upside-down for a fewer days earlier sinking into the water depths.

It would person been kept astatine the aboveground by what’s referred to arsenic "bloat-and-float," arsenic the buildup of postmortem gasses would support it buoyant. Modeling done by Henderson indicates its dense armor would person rolled it onto its back, a presumption helium suspects whitethorn person prevented water predators from scavenging its carcass.

Once the gasses that kept it floating were expelled, Borealopelta sank to the water floor, landing connected its back.

“We tin spot it went successful h2o deeper than 50 meters due to the fact that it was preserved with a peculiar mineral called glauconite, which is simply a greenish phosphate mineral. And it lone forms successful cooler temperatures successful h2o deeper than 50 meters,” explained Dr. Henderson.

He besides told Ars that this situation astir apt besides discouraged scavenging, saying, “It was astir apt a portion wherever [long-necked] plesiosaurs and large food didn’t similar to go. It was excessively acold and excessively dark, and [there was] thing to eat. And determination were precise fewer hint fossils successful the sediments astir it. So determination wasn’t overmuch successful the mode of worms and crustaceans and bivalves and things successful determination to further digest it. It was conscionable a bully acceptable of conditions successful the seabed that had precise debased biologic enactment that led to that preservation.”

Unmet expectations

But nary of this was known erstwhile the carnal was discovered. Although it's not wholly antithetic to find dinosaur remains successful marine environments, it’s besides not precise common. Henderson and Darren Tanke, besides from the Royal Tyrrell Museum, walked onto the tract afloat anticipating that they would excavate an past marine reptile.

The 2 had consulted connected fossil discoveries astatine different open-pit mines wrong the province. However, this was their archetypal sojourn to Suncor, a excavation successful the northeast of Alberta, Canada. Everything astir this excavation is enormous. Massive machinery is perpetually successful motion, scooping retired rock, sand, and gravel from surrounding cliffs, portion different instrumentality clears it away, each with the extremity of uncovering the deeper lipid sands for fuel.

“It’s conscionable unbelievable, the standard of the place,” Dr. Henderson said. “And it goes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Despite the gait of operations, 1 peculiar shovel operator, Shawn Funk, happened to announcement thing aft taking a large chunk retired of the cliff. It was acknowledgment to him and respective radical wrong Suncor that operations stopped successful that country and the Royal Tyrrell was notified.