MEET ‘BIG SAM’!
Specimen Number: PCB.2024.666
In the summer of 2023, our field crew saw the first hints of something that we hoped might just be an incredible discovery. One year later, after two summers of hard work... we are thrilled to welcome Big Sam into our prep lab.
BIG SAM’S JOURNEY FROM THE DIRT TO THE LAB
The skull was extracted September 25th, 2024 by PJCDM staff and volunteers. The jacket weighed over 1000 pounds and measured 1.63 meters in length, this is one of the largest Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai skulls ever discovered, and the first skull found in the Pipestone Creek Bonebed in since the museum’s opening. Our team trenched the fossil, hoisted it from the ground, applied a field jacket, and transported it back to the museum.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Fossil preparation is by far the most time-consuming part of the palaeontology process; at least as far as vertebrate fossils go. It must be done slowly and meticulously, especially for a fossil of this size. As a result, it is hard to predict how long the preparation process for Big Sam will take, but we are estimating it will take a year to a year and a half to prepare.
COMMUNITY INTEREST
Big Sam continues to be an exciting specimen for our palaeontologists and the public alike. In October 2024, we hosted a Members Night where PJCDM members could get up close and personal with Big Sam. We look forward to many more years of showing off this specimen, as the skull will stay in our collections.
THE REACH OF BIG SAM
Since its excavation, the story of Big Sam has spread all around the world. Notable news outlet coverage came from the CBC and the BBC, where our very own Dr Emily Bamforth starred in a video interview talking about the discovery.
WATCH
FIELD WORK IN NORTHERN ALBERTA
Here in northern Alberta, our field season is relatively short. We say we go from ‘snow to snow’: meaning, we work from when the snow melts in June to when it starts snowing again in October. Along with the Big Sam skull, our team collected almost 700 other fossils from the Pipestone Creek Bonebed during the 2024 season! In addition, our team also works at 5-10 other dinosaur fossil sites in the region each summer.
