Aspiring paleontologist Nathan Hrushkin speaks with pride about his B次元官网网址渒iller resume.B次元官网网址�

The Grade 7 student from Calgary discovered a rare dinosaur skeleton earlier this year at Horseshoe Canyon in the Badlands region of southeastern Alberta.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a significant find that one expert says fills a gap in the knowledge of dinosaur evolution.

B次元官网网址淚 really wanted to be a paleontologist before (and) now that IB次元官网网址檝e found something already, at only 12 years old B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檇 have a pretty killer resume,B次元官网网址� Nathan said with a laugh during a phone interview.

He said he was on a hike with his father and a few friends on a sunny, hot day in late June, when he saw a bone protruding from the ground.

B次元官网网址淭he first thing I said was, B次元官网网址極h my God, Dad. You need to get up here!B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

After emailing photos of the discovery to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alta., Nathan and his dad learned that the bone belonged to a young hadrosaur, also known as a duck-billed dinosaur because its pointed snout is similar to a duckB次元官网网址檚.

Hadrosaurs could grow up to 13 metres long and roamed Alberta while triceratopses and tyrannosaurs ruled the Earth, said Fran莽ois Therrien, curator of dinosaur paleoecology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, who responded to NathanB次元官网网址檚B次元官网网址� email

Therrien said the three- to four-year-old hadrosaur lived about 69 million years ago. ItB次元官网网址檚 a time period experts donB次元官网网址檛 know much about B次元官网网址渋n terms of dinosaurs living here in Canada and even in the western interior of North America,B次元官网网址� said Therrien

B次元官网网址淲e have very little information about whatB次元官网网址檚 going on B次元官网网址� that discovery by little Nathan is of great significance. Because it is one more piece to that puzzle.B次元官网网址�

Therrien said the find can help archeologists learn more about, not just the evolution of dinosaurs, but also how they responded to their changing climate and environment.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really excited because that time interval in the EarthB次元官网网址檚 history is a time of important environmental and climatic changes. ThereB次元官网网址檚 periods of rapid cooling, rapid warming, dropping rainfall, more humid conditions.

B次元官网网址淢y interest is figuring out whatB次元官网网址檚 happening to the animals during that time, especially dinosaurs. How are they faring with those periods of global climatic changes?B次元官网网址�

On Thursday, Nathan and his dad were to join Therrien and his team in extracting the final pieces of the approximately three-metre-long hadrosaur, including its partial skull. The pieces are to be placed in protective jackets made of burlap and plaster and sent to the museumB次元官网网址檚 lab for cleaning and research.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said that since NathanB次元官网网址檚 find, paleontologists have uncovered between 30 and 50 bones in the canyonB次元官网网址檚 wall.

Therrien said the youngsterB次元官网网址檚 response to the discovery is a textbook example of what the public should do when they come across fossils, bones and other skeletons in the area B次元官网网址� contact the museum.

As for Nathan, he said working with Therrien has helped him discover a lot about himself, too.

His love for dinosaurs had made it difficult for him to choose a favourite.

Now, he says, itB次元官网网址檚 a juvenile hadrosaur.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press B次元官网网址 Fellowship.

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press

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