James Smith
A rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil found by three children during a family hike in the North Dakota Badlands will soon be on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the museum said Tuesday.
The unlikely discovery was made in July 2022 by brothers Jessin and Liam Fisher, their father Sam Fisher and their cousin, Kaiden Madsen. Unaware of what his family had just discovered, Sam asked an old high school friend, paleontologist Tyler Lyson, for help.
After obtaining an excavation permit from the Bureau of Land Management — which manages the land where the discovery was made — Lyson, the museum’s curator of paleontology, headed to North Dakota in 2023 with a team and the children to excavate the fossil.
Tyler Lyson
When he came into the project, Lyson thought the dinosaur might be something more common, he said in a video interview posted by the museum. However, when he discovered the most diagnostic part of the fossil, the teeth, he said he knew the “trio of young fossil hunters” had found something truly special.
“When we told everyone, the euphoria was incredible; just a remarkable, remarkable moment,” Lyson said. “I mean, it’s not every day you come across such an amazing dinosaur.”
Juvenile T. rex fossils are not found every day. This one, dubbed the “Teen Rex” by the museum, is one of four young T. rex fossils found on Earth, Lyson said.
Rick Vime
“When you’re in a national park, you see deer, elk and moose, but you don’t see mountain lions or wolves,” Lyson said. “You don’t see these apex predators, because there just aren’t that many of them. So to find a T. rex, and to find one this complete, is truly special.”
Although they have not yet completed the histology, Lyson said the dinosaur is estimated to be between 12 and 14 years old. Lyson said it would weigh about half that of some of the most famous T. rex specimens.
Jessin, an aspiring paleontologist, told the museum he is quite pleased with his discovery – hoping it leads him down a path like Lyson’s – something the experienced vertebrate paleontologist is encouraging.
Rick Vime
“This is important because of the story of the discovery. It’s just an incredible, moving story where you have three kids searching for fossils in the Badlands of North Dakota and discovering the king of them all, Tyrannosaurus rex,” Lyson said. in your museum video.
The fossil will be on display starting June 21 in a temporary museum exhibit called “Discovering Teen Rex.” A documentary telling the story of the boys’ discovery will also be shown in the museum’s Infinity Theater.
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