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Denver Museum Unveils 67.5-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Vertebra Found 763 Feet Underground

Unearthed during a January geothermal drilling test, the vertebra now anchors the museum’s 'Discovering Teen Rex' exhibit as a rare example of urban paleontology.

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Part of a fossilized vertebrae from a herbivorous dinosaur found deep under the parking lot of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is displayed at the museum on July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Overview

  • The partial vertebra belongs to a medium-sized ornithopod dinosaur that roamed the Denver Basin about 67.5 million years ago.
  • Researchers recovered the fossil 763 feet beneath the museum’s parking lot while coring to evaluate geothermal heating potential.
  • A June peer-reviewed article led by Dr. Holger Petermann in Rocky Mountain Geology links the specimen to Thescelosaurus- and Edmontosaurus-like vertebrae.
  • The discovery marks the deepest and oldest dinosaur fossil found within Denver city limits and is one of only three borehole finds globally.
  • The specimen is now exhibited in 'Discovering Teen Rex,' and the museum has no plans for further deep drilling under its lot.