‘Completely speechless’: Three school boys discover nearly 67 million-year-old T-rex fossil in US

Three school boys from the US state of North Dakota made a significant discovery which left them “completely speechless”. The two boys and their cousin who have been described as “fossil hunters” stumbled upon a Tyrannosaurus rex bone which is said to be at least 67 million years old during a hike.

Discovery of ‘Teen Rex’

In July 2022, Liam and Jessie Fisher, then seven and 10, and their cousin Kaiden Madsen, now nine along with their father Sam were hiking in the North Dakota badlands and found the large leg bone.

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They sent an image of the fossilto Dr Tyler Lyson, a family friend who is the associate curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and they began the excavation.

As it turns out, the bone belonged to an adolescent T-rex, whose fossils are rare, and the boys have since dubbed it a “Teen rex.”

The discovery of the fossil was announced by the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, on Tuesday (Jun 4) which said that it will be studied and then be put on display later this month.

The trio was hiking through the Hell Creek Formation region which is known as the dinosaur capital of North Dakota because of its fossil-rich deposits. According to Lyon, the area “preserves Earth’s last dinosaur ecosystem” right before their extinction.

The bone that they stumbled upon may have been 67 million years ago.

“By going outside and embracing their passions and the thrill of discovery, these boys have made an incredible dinosaur discovery that advances science and deepens our understanding of the natural world,” said the palaeontologist

‘Completely speechless’

During the hike, Liam and his father noticed a large leg bone sticking out of the ground and called Jessin and Kaiden to come and see it, said the now nine-year-old, as quoted by Reuters.

“And dad asked, ‘What is this?’ And Jessin said, ‘That’s a dinosaur.’”

Fisher texted a picture to Lyson, his former classmate, who then obtained an excavation permit and nearly a year after the discovery in July 2023, everyone returned to the site.

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According to the palaeontologist, he and Jessin, on the first day of the excavation had uncovered the lower jaw with “several big T. rex teeth sticking out of it”. He added, “It still gives me goosebumps.”

“I was completely, like, speechless,” said Kaiden.

Experts believe that the “Teen rex” was around 13 to 15 years old, 25 feet long, and weighed around 1,600 kilogrammes, two-thirds adult size.

Lyson, as per Reuters said having juvenile specimens helps reveal the Tyrannosaurus growth rate and body changes during maturation. Notably, there are only a handful of such fossils available.

(With inputs from agencies)