Duck-Billed Dinosaur Discovery
Putting a dinosaur back together is a community effort.
The Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering houses the fossilized remains of a duck-billed dinosaur called Edmontosaurus annectens. Arriving on campus in October of 2023, "Marvin" (as he's affectionately called by the students who helped discover him) came to campus encased in layers of burlap and plaster. The specimen includes approximately 30 bones, which is a substantial number compared to most fossil discoveries.
It is estimated that it will take through the winter of 2027 to completely clean the fossils and reassemble them for research and display. This fossil preparation effort is being conducted by volunteers, including faculty, students, staff, and community members working in the North Dakota Geological Survey's Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library on the campus of UND. Anyone at least 16 years old (14 and 15 years old too, if you come with a parent or guardian) can register for a Fossil Prep Session and and we hope you join the fun!
Discovery
The Edmontosaurus specimen weighs about 4,400 pounds and was discovered by a team lead by Drs. Paul Ullmann and Kristyn Voegele, who are both Assistant Professors in the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering. The specimen was found in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana and is estimated to be 67 million years old. The Hell Creek Formation is a famous suite of mudstone and sandstone layers that were deposited in rivers, streams and floodplains during the end of the Cretaceous period. This Formation is exposed across portions of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. It is particularly significant due to the prevalence of fossils within it which provide rare clues into the final years of the reign of the dinosaurs.
About Edmontosaurus
The Edmontosaurus was a prominent hadrosaurid (duck-billed dinosaur) that was a large, herbivorous inhabitant of North America in the Late Cretaceous Period. It was distinguished by having a broad, flat, duck-like beak, which was adapted for rapidly gathering vegetation in wet environments. Edmontosaurus possessed multiple rows of specialized, interlocking, grinding teeth in the back of its powerful jaws, which were continuously replaced to process its diet of tough plant material, most likely including low-lying ferns, cycads and possibly also conifer needles and seeds. Their size was considerable, reaching lengths of up to 42 feet and weighing several tons. It could move using either just its back two legs or both its arms and legs, depending on the situation. Edmontosaurus coexisted with Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, and its habitat consisted of forested, swampy, lowland areas.
