On 11 August 1910, American paleontologist Barnum Brown discovered the remains of a large group of Albertosaurus at another quarry alongside the Red Deer River.
Because of the large number of bones and the limited time available, Brown's party did not collect every specimen, but made sure to collect remains from all of the individuals that they could identify in the bonebed.
Among the bones deposited in the American Museum of Natural History collections in New York City are seven sets of right metatarsals, along with two isolated toe bones that did not match any of the metatarsals in size.
This indicated the presence of at least nine individuals in the quarry.
Palaeontologist Philip J. Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology rediscovered the bonebed in 1997 and resumed fieldwork at the site, which is now located inside Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park.
Further excavation from 1997 to 2005 turned up the remains of 13 more individuals of various ages, including a diminutive two-year-old and a very old individual estimated at over 10 metres (33 feet) in length.
None of these individuals are known from complete skeletons, and most are represented by remains in both museums.
Excavations continued until 2008, when the minimum number of individuals present had been established at 12, on the basis of preserved elements that occur only once in a skeleton, and at 26 if mirrored elements were counted when differing in size due to ontogeny.
A total of 1,128 Albertosaurus bones had been secured, the largest concentration of large theropod fossils known from the Cretaceous.
On 11 August 1910, American paleontologist Barnum Brown discovered the remains of a large group of Albertosaurus at another quarry alongside the Red Deer River. Because of the large number of bones and the limited time available, Brown's party did not collect every specimen, but made sure to collect remains from all of the individuals that they could identify in the bonebed. Among the bones deposited in the American Museum of Natural History collections in New York City are seven sets of right metatarsals, along with two isolated toe bones that did not match any of the metatarsals in size. This indicated the presence of at least nine individuals in the quarry. Palaeontologist Philip J. Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology rediscovered the bonebed in 1997 and resumed fieldwork at the site, which is now located inside Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park. Further excavation from 1997 to 2005 turned up the remains of 13 more individuals of various ages, including a diminutive two-year-old and a very old individual estimated at over 10 metres (33 feet) in length. None of these individuals are known from complete skeletons, and most are represented by remains in both museums. Excavations continued until 2008, when the minimum number of individuals present had been established at 12, on the basis of preserved elements that occur only once in a skeleton, and at 26 if mirrored elements were counted when differing in size due to ontogeny. A total of 1,128 Albertosaurus bones had been secured, the largest concentration of large theropod fossils known from the Cretaceous.
Albertosaurus