Canadian Discovery Changes What We Knew About Dinosaur Habitats

Fossils have already told us a lot about the lives of ancient creatures and how our planet has changed. But scientists still have a lot to learn — as evidenced by the massive discovery of fossilized dinosaur remains just south of British Columbia’s border with the Yukon Territory in Canada.

Treacherous territory

A crew of paleontologists were recently lowered into the remote region of the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park because there was no other way to enter the dangerous area. But the park’s intimidating terrain is a not-so-secret benefit for those trying to dig up evidence from eons ago.

Royal B.C. Museum paleontology curator Victoria Arbour has led teams to excavate in the location twice before, but this time the payoff was particularly noteworthy.

“We came back with over 90 dinosaur fossil bones, which we’re super excited about because this is a relatively unexplored place for fossils,” she said.

After a preliminary analysis, scientists determined that all but one of the fossils discovered came from dinosaurs not previously known to have lived in that region.

“Mother lode of fossils”

Another aspect of this historic find is that it didn’t occur in a desert. Due to the remoteness of these areas and the protective function of exposed rock, arid regions of the planet are known to be among the best for producing the highest quality specimens.

Nevertheless, the Canadian wilderness park has proven to be a hotspot where the “mother lode of fossils,” as Arbour called it, had been buried just beneath the surface.

Now, experts are tasked with figuring out what species the fossils represent.

No matter what the results of that investigation are, Royal B.C. Museum CEO Tracey Drake concluded that the “remarkable discovery” will “help us to understand more about the dinosaurs who roamed British Columbia.”

Chris Agee September 23rd, 2024

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