A southeast Missouri man has found the skeleton of the state’s dinosaur. Guy Darrough, of Cadet, says the bones of this particular type of dinosaur, named the Parrosaurus missouriensis, have not been found anywhere else in the country.
Dino crew cover the bones with plaster to prepare it for transporting to the Field Museum. (Photo provided by Guy Darrough)
“About a month ago we pulled out the main body of it, which was like almost the size of a Volkswagen. We had to use a big piece of equipment to lift it out,” he tells Missourinet.
The duckbilled dinosaur, which walked the earth about 77 million years ago, is estimated to have had about 1,000 teeth, weighed three to four tons and spanned about 30 to 35 feet tall.
“If I never find another fossil that’s new, I am totally happy. Of course, we’re looking for some kind of a giant meat eater down. But this is like, I always say it’s like finding King Tut’s treasure in Missouri. I can’t imagine anything bigger for the state of Missouri than finding new genus of species of dinosaur,” says Darrough.
Hand bones of dinosaur (Photo credit Pete Makovicky)
Darrough has been digging for artifacts most of his life. He has found other prehistoric artifacts in the same area of southeast Missouri, including bones a relative of a T-Rex and giant crocodiles, fish teeth and a tooth of a smaller dinosaur.
“As far as dinosaurs go, really making new discoveries, southeastern Missouri our dinosaur site is the best thing you could ever do I mean for someone that’s looking for something new this is the place,” he says.
Darrough says he has no interest in making money off his findings. He builds giant dinosaurs for a living and places them in botanical gardens across the country.
Darrough is also the curator of the St. Genevieve Museum Learning Center.
“Kids nowadays have no idea that they can go out in Missouri – they don’t go to go Australia or Madagascar to make a new discovery. They can actually in Missouri, find animals that are new to science. It’s just they’re not alerted to that. The teachers don’t even know it. So that’s why the Learning Center is important to put the stuff in their hands, do programs with them,” he says.
The skeleton will eventually be on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. A 3D version of the dinosaur will be showcased at the St. Genevieve Museum Learning Center.
To listen to his interviews, featured on Show Me Today, click below.
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