Giant Dinosaur Bone Found by College Students in Big Bend National Park
Students from Sul Ross State University made an amazing discovery during their March trip to Big Bend National Park. They found a huge backbone piece from an Alamosaurus – the biggest land animal that ever lived in North America.
These geology students were on a research trip when they discovered this massive vertebra from the long-necked dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous Period.
Small pieces
This exciting find is especially important because Alamosaurus fossils in the Big Bend area are usually found in small pieces and not well preserved, writes Sul Ross State University.
The bone belongs to one of the most complete skeletons in the area. Assistant professors Jesse Kelsch and Thomas Shiller led the student team during this expedition.
“The specimen collected by the students belongs to one of the most complete skeletons in the area, originally collected and described by researchers from the University of Texas in the 1970s,” according to the university report.
Backbone pieces
Other backbone pieces were found earlier in the same place by Professor Shiller and his students. Scientists are now studying these bones in the university’s paleontology lab.
The university said the main goals of the trip included studying the structure and layers of rocks from the Cretaceous to Eocene periods.
