# Dog walker discovers 65 million-year-old fossil after pets sniff it out



## Timeshifter (Apr 26, 2021)

Who needs science?


'A dog walker has claimed he discovered a *65 million-year-old skeleton* on a Somerset beach after his sharp-nosed dogs sniffed it out. 
Jon Gopsill, 54, was on the coast near Stolford, Somerset, with his two pets when he stumbled across the five-and-a-half foot long fossil, which had been exposed by recent storms'

You lay around undiscovered for 65mln years the along comes a storm....

"I have always been a bit of an amateur fossil hunter and I have found a good supply of ammonites, so I always keep my eyes open.

Of course he has...

"We were at the beach when I saw this thing and thought 'what's that?' so I went a bit closer and thought 'wow'.

"I thought it was obviously a fossilised sea creature, possibly an ichthyosaur. It doesn't have a head , I have look around but I can't find it. It has been there for at least 65 million years.



"I realised straight that it was amazing, museum quality stuff, as soon as I saw it I knew I found something special. I was just blown away to see it there. It really is incredible that is has survived for such a long time and is now just there for everyone to see.”

With its own Jurassic and Triassic rocks, West Somerset’s northern bays are known for their fossil finds. 

A 'journalist' has written this... 

There really is zero hope...Source


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## Firefly (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: FireflyDate: 2019-12-16 22:03:30Reaction Score: 3


A journalist named "Verity" to really put a finishing touch on it...


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## codis (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: codisDate: 2019-12-17 06:58:27Reaction Score: 6




Timeshifter said:


> "I realised straight that it was amazing, museum quality stuff, as soon as I saw it I knew I found something special.


I am much more amazed by the dogs, able to sniff out bones rotting in the ground for 65.000.000 years.
I'd like one of them, too ...


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## HollyHoly (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: HollyHolyDate: 2019-12-17 18:11:25Reaction Score: 2


I believe this article completely, That  fossil picture  doesn't look at all  staged to me.  Science is amazing. Dogs should be  finding fossils from now on


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## SuperTrouper (Apr 26, 2021)

> Note: This post was recovered from the Sh.org archive.Username: SuperTrouperDate: 2020-02-13 00:20:18Reaction Score: 1


I saw this in the news yesterday and immediately thought of _@Timeshifter_'s sarcastic discovery threads.  

*New tyrannosaurus species named 'Reaper of Death' found by farming couple in Canada*

_A new species of tyrannosaur dating back almost 80 million years has been discovered by a farmer and his wife in Canada._

Thanatotheristes degrootorum stalked what is now North America more than 79 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period, making it the region's oldest-known tyrannosaur. The first part of the apex predator's name, Thanatotheristes, means "reaper of death", while the second part, degrootorum, honours John and Sandra De Groot, the couple who made the fossil discovery. Researchers said the new find gave them more insights into the evolution of tyrannosaurs — a group of large predatory dinosaurs that includes the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. "There are many anatomical features of the skull that differentiates Thanatotheristes," François Therrien, curator of dinosaur palaeoecology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, told the ABC. Standing roughly 2.4 metres high with teeth longer than 70 millimetres, the carnivorous dinosaur had many features resembling its younger cousin Tyrannosaurus rex. But Dr Therrien said no other species of tyrannosaur had ridges along its jaw, and the scales that covered them were likely to be colourful, giving it a very distinctive appearance.

The De Groots found the fossils, including jaw bones and skull fragments, in 2008 as they hiked along a riverbank in Alberta. "The jawbone was an absolutely stunning find," Mr De Groot said. The remains were determined to be from a tyrannosaur, but the bones that were collected were not believed to contain enough features to clearly differentiate which type. It wasn't until University of Calgary masters student Jared Voris took a closer look in 2018 that the distinguishing features were identified. Mr Voris returned to the site of the discovery with Dr Therrien and the two worked alongside others to analyse the fossils before officially announcing the discovery on Monday. "I think what's interesting here is that this discovery was not made by professional palaeontologists but by members of the public," Dr Therrien said.

Alberta's rugged and bare landscape has made it one of the top five places in the world for dinosaur fossils. Dr Therrien said that from his office at the museum he could walk out across the Badlands and discover fossils. "From some areas of the province you can collect up to six, maybe more, skeletons of dinosaurs every summer," he told the ABC. Of the 15 different species of tyrannosaurs, five of them have been found in Alberta. But most date from between 77 and 66 million years old, making this particular find even more significant. The last tyrannosaur discovered in Canada was Daspletosaurus, in 1970.


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