City officials confirm fossils found near the North Saskatchewan River last week are believed to be the remains of two long-extinct species - the Edmontosaurus and the Albertosaurus - find that has scientists and area residents thrilled.
Two city workers made the discovery while hand-tunneling a sewer tunnel in an area just off Quesnell Crescent last Thursday afternoon. Aaron Kyrwiak and Ryley Paul were working on the tunnel when they found something out of the ordinary.
"[I was] scratching some dirt back, I was looking down," said Krywiak.
"[He] passed it to me and said do you think that is a stone?," said Paul.
"I didn't know right away, but I set it aside," said Krywiak.
After closer observation the two realized it was no stone.
"So we started looking at it a little closer and sure enough it's a tooth," said Paul.
City officials contacted Jack Brink, Curator of Archaeology at the Royal Alberta Museum, who brought in Ph.D. student in palaeontology Mike Burns. Burns determined that the discovery included a very well preserved tooth and large limb bone elements. The fossils are thought to be from the Albertosaurus and the Edmontosaurus.
The team's investigation continued underground where more bones, including a femur and vertebra were found.
CTV's Kevin Armstrong went with city crews about 100 feet below the ground where the fossils were found.
Tunnel supervisor Grant Fox, jokingly calls the area where the fossils were found ‘Jurassic Park.'
"We found a tooth here, we dug another metre and we started finding bones," said Fox.
The find has residents of Quenell Heights excited about the find.
"I have a lot of wildlife around here, coyotes, deer, whatever in my garden and lots of birds and now I even have dinosaurs," said Maria Anna Glanz.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum has confirmed that this is a significant find and will work with the University of Alberta palaeontologists to ensure the fossils are recovered and preserved without causing project delays.
According to the Tyrrell Museum, the Albertosaurus was the top predator of its time and was actually a close relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, a dinosaur that lived a few million years later.
Joseph B.Tyrrell discovered the first Albertosaurus in 1884 in the Red Deer River valley. The Albertosaurus is now the most common of the large carnivores found in the province.
The bones will be excavated over the next few days and will then be transported to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller for further study.
With files from Kevin Armstrong
