The Denver Museum of Nature and Science unearthed a dinosaur bone fossil while drilling for geothermal energy beneath its parking lot. The hockey-puck-shaped vertebra, believed to be from a small plant-eating dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, is only the third such discovery globally found within a borehole sample. Museum officials describe the find as incredibly rare and exciting, though some experts deem it scientifically less significant due to the inability to pinpoint the species. The fossil, possibly from a duck-billed dinosaur or thescelosaurus, is now on display.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.