Alberta's Royal Tyrrell Museum celebrates 5 Guinness World Records for dinosaur skeleton collection

CALGARY -

The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta. is now home to an incredible five Guinness World Records for its unique collection of dinosaur fossils.

One of the most interesting records is that of a 72-million-year-old skeleton of an Albertonectes – a marine reptile dinosaur from the Lethbridge area – which is now considered the fossil with the longest neck.

“This one is really exceptional,” said museum curator Caleb Brown.

“The neck is made up of 76 individual vertebrae, so 76 individual bones. If you compare that to the human neck or that of a giraffe, we have just seven, so this dinosaur’s neck is more than half the length of the entire animal, it’s quite amazing.”

Other records awarded to the museum also include the skeleton of an almost full-intact Ornithomimid, which is considered by Guinness to be the ‘most complete fossil of its kind.’

The collection of bones from a Shonisaurus from the northern British Columbia region now holds the record for the largest marine reptile fossil.

The Royal Tyrrell is also home to the ‘best preserved armoured dinosaur’, called a Borealopelta, which Brown says still has all of its skin preserved, including bones and stomach contents.

Lastly, Guinness also awarded the museum with the most complete Tyrannosaur skeleton called a Gorgosaurus, which has almost every bone from the tip of its nose to its tail.

Brown says the records come as little surprise given Alberta’s incredible fossil record given that the province sat on the coastal plains of the inland sea in the Cretaceous period making it warm, wet and a great place for dinosaurs to live.

“While these animals were living on this coastal plain, there were major rivers that were coming in and they were laden with sediment so they were constantly laying down rock in those kinds of river valleys and in the river beds as they carved their way across the coastal plain,” Brown said.

“So when these animals died, there was a good chance they could get incorporated into that river and buried very rapidly. And that's quite important for good fossil preservation.”

Brown adds that the fossils receiving records from Guinness were all discovered within the last 40 years, and the majority of them were found by members of the public who either stumbled upon them or were excavating while working in the construction or mining industries.

“It really highlights the contributions that everyday Albertans can make when they're out and about,” Brown said.

“So keep an eye out if you see something you think is a fossil, report it to the museum because it might become a Guinness World Record holder for a specimen.”

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is currently following the restrictions exemption program, requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination and allowing visitors to book times online in advance.

THE RECORD-BREAKING PROCESS

According to Guinness World Records, the organization works with a wide variety of consultants and specialists in various fields, including that of paleontology.

Record adjudicator Michael Empric says his team is all about investigating the world and The Royal Tyrrell Museum’s collection was something they had to research.

“To have five Guinness World Records titles in one location is really an achievement, especially when it's such a specialized sort of field, like paleontology and dinosaurs. It's really impressive and an amazing asset for the entire Alberta community,” he said.

“At Guinness, we're trying to broaden horizons and one of the ways we've done that is by going and seeing what are some really key museums around the world that have incredible collections and the Royal Tyrrell Museum is one of those.”

Empric adds that Guinness World Records has detailed guidelines set out by its teams in London and New York to authenticate different records.

In the case of fossils at The Royal Tyrrell Museum, witness statements were obtained along with in-depth expert analyses to make sure the records are in fact legitimate.