Duck-billed dinosaur may be 1 of many at site

Finding the fossils of a large duck-billed dinosaur in southern Missouri is exciting enough, but a paleontologist who helped lead the dig believes there are many more in the same area.

The latest fossils are a specimen of Parrosaurus missouriensis, first discovered at the same site in Bollinger County nearly 80 years ago but not confirmed as a new species until the latest dig. Experts believe the plant-eating dinosaurs grew to around 35 feet in length. Remains of four of the species have been found in the same area about 110 miles south of St. Louis.

Last month, a crane hoisted a 2,500-pound chunk of remains from the latest find from a wooded area. The fossils will go to Chicago’s Field Museum for further research.

University of Minnesota paleontologist Peter Makovicky, who helped lead the dig, said Monday that he believes the remains of many other dinosaurs will be found at the site.

“We actually have something that’s probably a mass death locality, where we have a herd of dinosaurs dying and being sort of buried together, and individuals of different ages,” Makovicky said.

“We can start looking at how these dinosaurs grew, start to understand a little bit about their biology and their possible herd structure. And that’s unique for a site east of the Great Plains.”