After three years of exploration, a paleontology team from the Royal BC Museum uncovered a trove of fossils in the rugged terrain of the Skeena Mountains in Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park.

The fossils, estimated to be about 66 to 68 million years old, include an array of well-preserved remains from various dinosaur species from a geological area known as the Sustut Basin.

Among the finds are over 90 fossils, including teeth from a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, teeth from a relative of Triceratops, bones from at least one large herbivore, and the foot of a small meat-eater and the remains of a Ferrisaurus sustutensis - B.C.含羞草研究社檚 only known native dinosaur to date. 

Yet, reaching the site has proven to be a challenge, said Victoria Arbour, curator of paleontology at the Royal BC Museum and lead researcher on the project. Blizzards in 2019 and a major wildfire in 2023 hindered the team's work. The fossil site, located at an altitude of 2,000 metres, is accessible only by helicopter. 

含羞草研究社淭his site is unlike any other in Canada,含羞草研究社� said Arbour. 含羞草研究社淣ot only are we finding fossils in the mountains, but the dinosaurs we are finding were living among the mountains, too, which is really different compared to other fossil sites in North America.含羞草研究社�

Determining the full scope of the discovery will require extensive analysis and interpretation to have a comprehensive understanding of what species were discovered. 

含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e excited to start figuring out what species we may have found - these could be examples of T. rex and Triceratops known from elsewhere in Canada and the U.S., or they could be entirely new species not yet known to science,含羞草研究社� she said.

Found by chance in 2013, the site was discovered by a museum alpine biodiversity team during their first expedition collecting data on plants and insects.

含羞草研究社淭he curator of botany had picked up a dinosaur tooth that ended up being from a tyrannosaur,含羞草研究社� said Arbour. 含羞草研究社淲hen I found out about this, I was really excited because [it often means] that there含羞草研究社檚 going to be more bones in this whole area.含羞草研究社�

Arbour qualified this finding as 含羞草研究社渢ruly remarkable含羞草研究社�.

含羞草研究社淭his would be sort of like what I would expect if I was working in the Badlands of Alberta,含羞草研究社� said Arbour. 含羞草研究社淲e haven't found a whole skeleton or a whole skull - and it'll probably be really hard to do that on the mountain - but finding fossils up on the plateaus, up on mountains is not the usual place that we find dinosaurs in most of Canada and the United States.含羞草研究社�

What makes this discovery even more unique is its location, noted to Arbour.

含羞草研究社淭he dinosaurs were also living up in the mountains. Most dinosaurs in North America, that we know of, were living in coastal environments along an ancient seashore," Arbour said. "These dinosaurs on the Spatsizi Plateau would have been living in sort of valleys in between really tall mountain ranges, in a really different environment.含羞草研究社�

While the bones of coastal-dwelling dinosaurs were eventually buried and conveniently preserved in sediment layers at the bottoms of creeks and rivers, mountain fossils remained exposed to the elements.

含羞草研究社淵ou just don't really find [fossils] up in the mountains,含羞草研究社� said Arbour. 含羞草研究社淪o, this is really neat because含羞草研究社� we have no idea what to expect about the dinosaurs from there.含羞草研究社�

Although this summer's expedition has been a success, Arbour noted the work is just beginning as a tedious and time-intensive process lies ahead.

含羞草研究社淎 lot of those specimens are still encased in rock or at least have some rock on them so we'll be using special tools to get all the rock off so we can see the bones.含羞草研究社�

Over the next few years, the fossils will be analyzed at Colwood's PARC Campus, a secure repository for the province含羞草研究社檚 collections and research, currently under construction and set to open in 2026.

Eagerly awaiting the first results of their research, Arbour and her team are excited to uncover a piece of the province's prehistory.

含羞草研究社淭his gives us a better understanding of how B.C. has changed over millions and millions of years,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淭hese particular dinosaurs might have been living at the end of the Mesozoic, right before the asteroid impact that changed the course of evolution.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淯nderstanding [more about these] dinosaurs really helps us understand those changes.含羞草研究社�

This discovery was made possible in part by funding from the Trebek Initiative, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and BC Parks. 

Fossils are protected in British Columbia and the collection of these fossils was made possible by a Park Use Permit from BC Parks. To learn more about the rules around fossil collecting in BC, visit .

To learn more about dinosaurs of the Sustut Basin and fossils from the Spatsizi Plateau, visit the travelling exhibit, Dinosaurs of BC, currently on display at the until Sept. 30.