B.C.’s dinosaur-rich country has coughed up its first full-sized skeleton — a nine-metre-long monster from 75 million years ago.
Now scientists would like a law to protect the rest of the province’s ancient riches — until they too can be found and saved.
Paleontologist Richard McCrea said Monday the rare new discovery is the culmination of two summers of back-breaking work at a secret hillside location near Tumbler Ridge.
“We went looking for it and got lucky,” he said. “It is the first time this has been done in B.C.
“We have a complete skeleton from the middle of the tail to the shoulders. There are intact hips and one leg.
“We’re still looking for the skull.”
With such a wealth of bones, McCrea said experts consider the skeleton “complete.”
He said the site — and several other promising locations discovered this summer — point to the need to protect B.C.’s heritage with provincial laws that would prevent accidental destruction.
“Specific legislation is needed, not fossil management,” McCrea said.
The ancient creature, which may eventually be replicated in the Peace River’s Paleontology Research Centre and museum, is a four-tonne plant-eater called a hadrosaur.
It had a duck-like bill and liked to munch on lots of leaves, pine needles and wood stems.
The jaw was something for the ages — a double-battery of 2,000 grinding teeth mounted in eight rows on each side, McRae said.
It lived in a semitropical swamp much like a “Louisiana bayou,” set on the shore of an enormous inland sea extending over the present-day prairies.
McCrea can’t say how it died, but razor-sharp teeth from several two-legged, meat-eating tyrannosaurs have been found nearby.
“We don’t know what happened to this one. It died and got scavenged,” he said.
McCrea said B.C. has been slow to protect fossils, which can be easily destroyed by human activity.
In 2005, the government announced it was moving toward a heritage program to manage B.C.’s ancient past. Five years later, McCrea is still waiting.
The province undertook a consultation program last summer, B.C. Agriculture and Lands Minister Steve Thomson said in a statement.
“Our goal is to provide clear measures to manage fossil sites in B.C.,” Thomson said. “We are working toward a comprehensive framework that will manage this important resource.”
Author: Kent Spencer | Source: The Province [October 04, 2010]
