Dinosaur skull discovered in northeastern B.C.

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. — A piece of dinosaur skull unearthed in northeastern British Columbia earlier this month is the first of its kind discovered in the province, an expert says. The fossilized tyrannosaur skull was found near Tumbler Ridge, in an area that has produced hundreds of dinosaur teeth, bones and footprints since 2001, but until this month had never yielded a skull.

Richard McCrea, director of the Peace Region Palaeaontology Research Centre, said the discovery means B.C. now has “some bones in the game’’ when it comes to researching the types, age and geographic range of dinosaurs — information that until now mostly originates from Alberta. The 100-kilogram fossil — including the surrounding rock — features a boomerang-shaped bone from the upper jaw between the eye and nose of the dinosaur, with teeth projecting down. McCrea said finding this specific peace of bone is significant because it can be used to determine the type of tyrannosaur it originated from.