The Denver Museum of Nature & Science announced last week that it discovered a 67.5 million year old dinosaur fossil under its parking lot.
The partial-bone fossil, idenified as a Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) ornithischian dinosaur bone, was found 763 feet below the surface. It is the oldest—and deepest—discovery found within Denver city limits.
The fossil was discovered, according to the press release, in January, while the museum was conducting a “geothermal test drilling project” to determine whether it could transition from natural gas to geothermal energy. The team conducted concurrent scientific coring research in an effort to “better understand the geology of the Denver Basin.”
“This may be the most unusual dinosaur discovery I have ever been a part of,” Patrick O’Connor, the director of Earth and space sciences at the institution, said in a statement.
“Not only is it exceptionally rare to find any fossil as part of a drilling project, but the discovery provided an outstanding collaborative opportunity for the Museum earth sciences team to produce an article led by Denver Museum of Nature & Science postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Holger Petermann.”
An article on the findings was published in Rocky Mountain Geology in June.
The geothermal drilling was funded by a $250,000 grant the museum was awarded in 2024 through a state program to facilitate the transition to clean energy.
Bob Reynolds, an earth sciences research associate at the museum, called the fossil discovery “magical.” Adding in a statement, “In my 35 years at the Museum, we’ve never had an opportunity quite like this—to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision.”
The fossil is now on view in the museum as part of its “Discovering Teen Rex” exhibition.
