Exciting research reveals new information about the diet of tyrannosaurs, based on an extraordinary specimen that contains the last meal of a young meat-eating dinosaur. It’s the first time that stomach contents have been found preserved in place in a fossilized tyrannosaur. A well-preserved Gorgosaurus libratus specimen was found by Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology … Continue reading A Young Tyrannosaur’s Last Meal
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology collects thousands of fossils each year. Staff locate some of these while conducting targeted fieldwork, whereas other fossils are found and reported to us by members of the public. What exactly happens when a fossil is discovered? The answer is different for every specimen. Although most fossils are underground … Continue reading Incredible Fossils Added to Royal Tyrrell Museum Collection
Did you know that less than 1% of the Royal Tyrrell Museum’s collection is on display at any given time? Temporary exhibits, like Fossils in Focus, allow us to highlight current research and exceptional fossils from our vast collection. The latest installation of Fossils in Focus includes Canada’s best-preserved Triceratops skull, the first trackways left … Continue reading 2023 Fossils in Focus—Alberta’s Best
The best-preserved, most complete Triceratops skull known from Canada is now on display for the first time. This extraordinary specimen, collected and prepared by the Royal Tyrrell Museum, has been unveiled as part of the Museum’s new Fossils in Focus exhibit. The ceratopsians are a group of beaked plant-eating dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous … Continue reading ‘Calli’: Canada’s Best Triceratops
Modern birds are known as the last living dinosaurs, because they survived the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction event 66 million years ago that eliminated all non-avian dinosaurs. But today’s birds are a far cry from the large, meat-eating theropods that once roamed the Earth. The evolutionary transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds involved several anatomical, biomechanical, and … Continue reading Troodon: Where Bird Meets Reptile on the Evolutionary Tree
As we begin a new year, let’s take a moment to remember some of our biggest highlights of 2022. Highest Attendance in the Museum’s History The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology set a record for attendance in the 2022 calendar year, welcoming 501,430 visitors! This is the first time, since the Museum started charging admission … Continue reading Year in Review: 2022 Highlights
The nodosaur Borealopelta markmitchelli is the world’s best-preserved armoured dinosaur. This amazing specimen has helped answer many important questions about dinosaur biology and behaviour. Now, new research supports the theory that the nodosaur was a picky eater. Uniquely, Borealopelta was preserved with a “cololite”—a distinct mass found within the dinosaur’s stomach cavity. Cololites (not to … Continue reading Borealopelta: A Selective Herbivore
We refresh the specimens on display in our Fossils in Focus exhibit every fall, highlighting current research and exceptional fossils from our vast collection. This year’s exhibit features multiple exquisite specimens from across Alberta, including two found by members of the public. A Tiny Terror: ‘Blossom’ the Juvenile Gorgosaurus This specimen is one of the … Continue reading 2022 Fossils in Focus Exhibit Features Extraordinary Discoveries
During a recent conversation with the Dutch palaeoartist Esther van Hulsen, our Museum learned about an art project 95 million years in the making. Esther had read about drawings created by Elizabeth Philpot, friend of the famous fossil collector Mary Anning, using fossilized ink sacs of fossil belemnites that Anning had collected in the 1800s. … Continue reading The Ink-thyosaur: Painting a Picture of Alberta’s Past
Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada is among the world’s richest locations for dinosaur fossils. The UNESCO World Heritage Site boasts more than 40 species of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous, roughly 77 – 75 million years ago. Fossil hunters have been collecting specimens from this area for over a century. Each year, staff from … Continue reading Skin Deep: How a Unique Fossil Find Brought Together an International Team