Discoverers Sherman Mohler (right) and Derek Hoffman at the Ornatops site in New Mexico.
Let’s step back in time about 80 million years. That’s the approximate age of the Ornatops incantatus, a duck-billed, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in northwestern New Mexico.
Citizen scientists unearthed the school bus-sized creature during a recent expedition. It s the coolest Easter egg hunt you could ever imagine, said Sherman Mohler, an engineer from Gilbert and president of the Southwest Paleontological Society.
His partner on that particular trip was Derek Hoffman, a geologist at the University of Arizona.
The men are volunteers, accompanied by professional investigators. As Mohler explains, the volunteers do everything from preparing food to excavating delicate ancient bones.
The newly discovered dinosaur is dubbed Ornatops. Scientists say it means “enchanted ornate face.” Author: Matt Yurus (12News) Updated: 10:45 AM MST April 14, 2021
PHOENIX Volunteers working with the Arizona Museum of Natural History helped uncover a dinosaur believed to have roamed the earth 80 million years ago.
The newly discovered dinosaur has been dubbed Ornatops. Scientists said it means “enchanted ornate face,” which derives from the crest shape sported on the bridge of its nose.
But Andrew McDonald, the curator at the Western Science Center in California, said the dinosaur s size was equally as impressive. The Ornatops is currently being held at the Western Science Center.