Flying Dinosaurs!

Published: 2nd Nov 2015

The National Guard were called in to assist with the removal of some Pentaceratops remains from the wilderness of New Mexico. The skeletal remains of a baby Pentaceratops and an adult Pentaceratops were lifted from the discovery site by a National Guard helicopter and transported to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. The discovery site was in an area where vehicles or mechanised equipment are allowed. In preparation for the flight the remains of Pentaceratops were encased in plaster to protect them.

Pentaceratops lived 70 million years ago in the late Cretaceous. Like most Ceratopsians it was a rhinoceras-like dinosaur and measured about 8 metres long, 3 metres tall, and weighed just over 7 tonnes. It was a plant eating dinosaur. Only 10 examples of Pentaceratops have been discovered so far, so this discovery of a several is extremely important. It is also the first time that a baby skull and skeletal remains have been found.