Dino Fossil Unearthed ; Museum Of Nature & Science To Show Off Rare Triceratops Specimen

A significant fossil from the triceratops dinosaur will be unveiled today at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Museum officials declined Sunday to discuss details of the find, which one museum paleontologist described as major. The fossils were found recently at a metro-area home construction site by a museum paleontology volunteer, a news release said.

The owner of the land where the “rare and unusual” fossil was found has donated it to the museum, the release said. The museum already has started preparing it.

Volunteer Jim Sundine said he saw the specimen wrapped and positioned under a stairwell. He said the fossil was found in the Brighton area.

The first triceratops fossil ever discovered was found in Denver in 1888. The fossil was initially misidentified as bison remains.

The Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden got its name because of the discovery in the 1970s of a triceratops footprint.

A triceratops fossil also was found during the construction of Coors Field, leading the Colorado Rockies to adopt a triceratops, Dinger, as the team’s mascot.

In 1999, the remains of four triceratops were found when Westminster’s Westmoor Golf Course was being developed.

Science museum curators have long sought a complete set of remains and intact skull from a triceratops. The dinosaur is known for its bony skull plate and three horns.

Triceratops lived in the late Cretaceous period. The dinosaur was about 30 feet long, 10 feet tall and weighed six to 12 tons.