Boys Hiking with Dad... Giant Dinosaur Bones 'Discovery of the Century'

Denver Museum "Three Boys Contribute to Scientific Advancement"

A 9-year-old boy hiking with his family discovered a Tyrannosaurus (T-Rex) fossil. The discovery of a T-Rex fossil is extremely rare, and since the bones are almost perfectly preserved, it has been hailed as a 'discovery of the century.'

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 4th (local time) the story of brothers Liam and Jesin Fisher and their cousin Cade Medson. The Fisher brothers and Medson went hiking in the wilderness of North Dakota in 2022 and discovered dinosaur fossils. Sam Fisher, the father of the Fisher brothers, accompanied them on the hike.

Three friends discovered a T-Rex bone while hiking
[Image source: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, USA]

The wilderness area was already famous for numerous dinosaur fossil discoveries in the past. While carefully observing their surroundings, the three children happened to find a large bone fragment protruding from a rock. Sam Fisher took a photo of the bone and sent it to his friend Tyler Lyson, a museum curator and paleontologist.

Lyson was astonished when he saw the photo sent by Fisher. He immediately issued a statement saying, "Three boys have advanced science," emphasizing, "The fossil they found is an amazing discovery that deepens our understanding of the natural world."

The bone the three boys discovered turned out to be a T-Rex fossil. Dating estimates suggest it was fossilized about 65 million years ago. Lyson quickly assembled a team and conducted excavation work over 11 days. After carefully excavating the bones from the ground, they took photos and transported them to the museum.

The fossil is currently housed at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in the United States. Scientists speculate that the bone was a T-Rex shinbone, estimating the dinosaur to have been 13 to 15 years old, about 3 meters long, and weighing approximately 1.5 tons. Other paleontologists plan to revisit the site this year to excavate additional bones from the area.

Two years after discovering the T-Rex bones, the Fisher brothers are now 9 and 12 years old, and their cousin Medson is 11. Upon hearing the news that they had found a rare dinosaur fossil, they expressed excitement, saying, "We had no idea it was such a special discovery." When they learned that the fossil was their favorite T-Rex, they said, "We are completely speechless," showing their joy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.