Denver Dinosaur Discovery Under Museum Parking Lot Stuns Scientists

A routine geothermal drilling project at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science turned up a once-in-a-lifetime fossil discovery—deep beneath its own parking lot. The museum uncovered part of a vertebra from an ornithopod, a small herbivorous dinosaur that roamed the area roughly 67.5 million years ago. Found at a depth of 763 feet, the fossil was extracted from a narrow core sample, making the find extraordinarily rare. Museum geologist James Hagadorn compared the odds to “hitting a hole in one from the moon.” Though not the first dinosaur fossil in the region, it is the deepest and oldest discovered within Denver’s limits. The find has sparked awe and some scientific debate, with experts acknowledging its rarity even if it lacks broad paleontological significance.

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Source: AP News