KU Paleontologist Group Resumes Excavation of Juvenile Tyrannosaur

Posted July 29, 2024

A team of paleontologists from the University of Kansas traveled back to a site this summer to continue their excavation of a rare juvenile tyrannosaur.

David Burnham, preparator of vertebrate paleontology at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, is leading the four-week expedition to search for the fossil after discovering the remains in 2016. The site is located in the Hells Creek Formation in Montana.

Additional fossils of the KU tyrannosaur would provide more insights into the specimen’s prehistoric past and understanding of its evolutionary history. The fossil specimen Burnham and his team found gained its rarity thanks to the preservation of its teeth in addition to it being a juvenile. Of the approximately 100 T-Rex fossils discovered so far, only a handful are juveniles, according to the KU Office of Public Affairs.

The complete skeleton of the tyrannosaur would be approximately 25 feet long with a 3-foot-long skull.

Burnham and his students published a preliminary report in 2018. Burnham and his team hope to publish their findings about the tyrannosaur later this year.