First-of-its-kind dinosaur fossil reveals look at Saskatchewan 75 million years ago

A recent discovery is putting Saskatchewan in the spotlight when it comes to Dinosaur research. And its shedding light on an ancient coastal habitat in the province.

While you might think of places like Drumheller, Alta., as the centre of the dinosaur world, Saskatchewan might have a lot more to offer than you might think.

Recently, paleontologists from McGill University discovered Saskatchewan’s first Centrosaurus.

Centrosaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur with one horn on its snout and spines around the back of its neck frill.

“We found fragments of the frill that have horns shaped like hooks and those are distinctive of that species,” Alexandre Demers-Potvin, a PhD, McGill University palaeobiologist said.

“It’s part of a group of dinosaurs called Ceratopsia. And that pretty much includes all the dinosaurs that had horns on their heads. So, think of anything like triceratops.”

As part of the discovery, researchers also uncovered a unique ecosystem at the Lake Diefenbaker Bonebed in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park.

Demers-Potvin said it revealed an environment unlike any previously documented in Canada.

According to University of Saskatchewan adjunct professor Dr. Emily L. Bamforth, the finding has changed the way we think about the ecosystem found in Saskatchewan 75 million years ago.