This fossil of a newfound species of nodosaur is so well preserved that it looks like a statue
The dinosaur lived midway through the Cretaceous period, between 110 million and 112 million years ago.
The 110 million-year-old nodosaur fossil, dubbed the ‘four legged tank’ was discovered by a miner, Shawn Funk as he was digging at the Suncor Millenium Mine near Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, Canada, on March 21, 2011.
The armoured plant-eater is the best preserved fossil of its kind ever found. The find is so rare it has been described as like winning the lottery.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology spent the next six years working on uncovering the beast within the 2,500-pound (1,100 kg) lump of earth.
The fossil was so well preserved that the researchers were able to digitally recreate an image of what the dinosaur would have looked like. Moreover, remnants of skin still cover bumpy armour plates along the dinosaur’s skull. Its right forefoot lies by its side, its five digits splayed upward. You can even count the scales on its sole.
The nodosaurs were around 18 feet (five metres) long on average, and weighted up to 3,000 pounds (1,300 kg). It featured two 20-inch-long spikes which protruded from its shoulders.
Awesome, we have a dinosaur as it would have been.
Aw. A lizard 😀