Wild new/old fossil of a new dinosaur genus uncovered in Montana

The fossil was discovered in the Judith River Formation on the outskirts of Havre, northern Montana, by accident on May 16th, 2014. A commercial fossil company came across it while removing rock overlying a tyrannosaurid fossil. Because it had been buried beneath more than 40 feet of rock, it was an in exceptional state of preservation. It was raised in two blocks, skull and torso in one, tail in the other. The fossil company cleared the rock over a small portion of both sections before the specimen was acquired by the Royal Ontario Museum in 2016. Museum exports have been working to fully clear and study the fossil ever since.

An amazing photo.  It gives a great idea of the size of the block the beast was imprisoned in, and the texture of the hide.  This is just an unbelievable snapshot in stone of a creature that lived and walked the Earth an unimaginably long time ago.

In 2017, the museum published the first paper announcing the discovery a previously unknown genus of dinosaur and naming it Zuul Crurivastator.

The spooky skull released from the stone.

It is the most complete ankylosaurid (armored dinosaurs with mace-like tails) fossil ever found in North America, with its skull and tail club both intact and with preserved armature plates, soft tissues, skin impressions and dark films believed to be keratin. Skull and tail club almost never are found from a single specimen, and the level of soft tissue preservation gives paleontologists an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the evolution of the animal’s skin and armor.

The end of the tail and club

The belly and hips are still in a block of stone that weighs 15 tons. It will take years of applying tiny jackhammers to all that rock before the full fossil is ready for its close-up.

Via the always good History Blog.