Emily Bamforth

Stepping into the first #FossilFriday of 2025, we have a Troodontid phalanx. These small carnivorous dinosaurs are closely related to the more famous dromaeosaurs, like Velociraptor, but are more robustly built, with long legs and powerful feet.

Back in September, we had the privilege of hosting the crew from Huge if True for an amazing day of filming at Pipestone Creek bonebed and in our lab! 😀 A huge thank you goes out to @cleoabram and her team, as well as our palaeo crew and @EL_Bamforth. Watch it below!

#FossilFriday! This hadrosaur dentary (lower jaw) shows the tooth rows that made hadrosaurs so successful. The teeth interlock and continuously replace each other, creating a robust chewing surface. Combined with mobile jaw muscles, this made hadrosaurs exceptional chewers.

#FossilFriday! This is a Pachyrhinosaurus rib collected from Pipestone Creek in 2023. While ribs are usually among our most common fossils, this one is special. The bulge at the end shows where it was broken and healed during the animal's life, making it a very fascinating find.

#FossilFriday! This week, we're showcasing the hidden right side of our Styracosaurus skull (taken from inside the display case)! Known for its massive horns, this animal roamed Southern Alberta 83-70 m.y.a. This great specimen highlights the incredible diversity of ceratopsians.

"My heart is racing... it's finally happening...!" 🤯 Introducing: "Big Sam" the Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai skull just excavated from the #PipestoneCreekBonebed! After months of hard work, our field crew tackled this long-awaited excavation today. @thereal_jsweder @EL_Bamforth

#FossilFriday! This theropod metacarpal was found earlier this year and is preserved with a dark brown colour. The colour of fossils is influenced by the surrounding mineral composition during fossilization. Given the shape of this fossil, it is possibly from a Saurornitholestes.

The next post in our blog series is live on Blogosaur! 🦴 Palaeo How-To: What are Fossils? 🔎 dinomuseum.ca/2024/08/palaeo… "Palaeo How-To" is a series designed to give you behind the scenes access to how the science of palaeontology is actually done. Read, share, and enjoy!🦖

#FossilFriday! This is "Bosswell", the Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai skull! This week, we flipped Bosswell to reveal his left side, not seen in 22 years. Bosswell is very well-preserved. See his rostral horns along the nose, inflated boss, & midline partial horn (or "unicorn horn").

#FossilFriday! The small black marks on these rocks are impressions of prehistoric aquatic plants! These plants, including pond mosaic plants, duckweed, and water lilies, were well adapted to freshwater environments. They either floated on the surface or were partly submerged.

With field season already underway, we're very lucky to have a rockstar palaeo team that isn't afraid of heights 😬😱 @EL_Bamforth

An exciting new blog series has just reached Blogosaur! Introducing "Palaeo How-To", a series designed to give you behind the scenes access to how the science of palaeontology is actually done. To kick us off: what is palaeontology, anyway? dinomuseum.ca/2024/06/palaeo…

#FossilFriday! This is an ilium of a Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai. This blade shaped bone is 1 of the 3 sets of paired bones that make up dinosaur hips. The ilium is on top and connects to the backbone, creating a strong anchor for other the hip bones, femur, and hip muscles.

#FossilFriday! This week, we have an exciting fossil found in 2023. This is a Thescelosaurus femur (upper leg bone). This type of dinosaur is one of the rarer groups from the Grande Prairie region, so this bone helps us fill the gap of what other dinosaurs lived in the region.