CompuServe Thread

From Reuters… REGINA, Saskatchewan, June 29 (Reuter) – A rare and complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the ferocious dinosaur that roamed the Earth 65 million years ago, has been found in a small valley on the Canadian Prairies. "This is an extremely exciting discovery as initial indications are that the entire skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex is present," said Carol Carson, minister of municipal government for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. "There are only a dozen nearly-complete skeletons of this creature in the world," Carson said in a statement released Wednesday. Scientists have so far unearthed several vertebrae, part of the upper jaw, a leg and some teeth, two of which measure six inches (15 cms) length. Based on these findings, the skeleton is believed to be that of a mature adult dinosaur measuring up to 15 meters (yards) in length, 5.6 meters in height and weighing up to 5.5 metric tons (5.39 tons). Carson said the bones date back to near the end of the Cretaceous period, or about 65 million years ago. The rest of the skeleton is encased in rock and located under a hillside in the Frenchman River Valley, about 215 miles (350 km) southwest of Regina, near the North Dakota-Saskatchewan border. Excavation at the site began June 17 and is expected to take the rest of the summer to complete. REUTER Copyright 1994 Reuters America Inc. All rights reserved.