Scientists have discovered the bones of a dinosaur in Missouri, and it’s a new genus never uncovered before, KTLA sister station KTVI in St. Louis reports.
Paleontologist Guy Darrough discovered the juvenile skeleton of a Parrosaurus Missouriensis in the Show-Me State. The specific location of the finding is being kept secret until the site can be secured.
“I can’t imagine anything that’s more impressive than what we discovered here. A new genus in species. That’s a world-famous discovery,” Darrough said.
Remains of the duckbilled dinosaur, which measure a staggering 25 to 30 feet long, have not been found anywhere else in the United States. When Darrough found the juvenile dinosaur skeleton, he had it transported to the Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center. Then, he called Chicago’s Field Museum with the big news.
“I eventually talked to Pete Makovicky, curator of dinosaurs at the Field Museum,” said Darrough. “He came down and looked and said, ‘Yeah, you guys got dinosaurs.’”
Not long after Makovicky and his team started digging in Missouri, they found an adult Parrosaurus Missouriensis right next to the juvenile.
“This is in fact a remarkable site in one of the best dinosaur locals east of the Great Plains,” said Makovicky, a professor in earth and environmental sciences at the University of Minnesota.
Makovicky said he has dug up dinosaurs all over the world. However, he calls the Missouri site one of the most unique. He believes it’s likely other dinosaurs will be found there.
The find is 80 years in the making. The original owners of the property found bones in the 1940s. The bones were sent to the Smithsonian and later confirmed to be that of a dinosaur, but nothing ever developed.
