WOODLAND PARK — After searching for 25 years, it was in the last hours of the last day that curator Anthony Maltese finally found a missing T.rex fossil.
Maltese is a part of the Triebold Paleontology Inc and had walked off 100 miles across a ranch with his field crew scouting and collecting throughout the area.
The spot had been scouted several times over the years, but it was in this year that a few bones began to emerge after erosion exposed them.
The bones were scattered under soft mud, now making it easy to dig up and clean. Although 15% has been found, more may still be under the dirt.
The fossils tell the story of a large juvenile that appears to have been scavenged upon by other predators after dying. There are also signs of potential cannibalism by other Tyrannosaurs and evidence of several different pathologies, including marks of disease, deformity, or previous injuries on the bones.
Maltese has named the juvenile rex "Valerie" after his wife and jokes that he'd get in trouble if he didn't.
Valerie will be on display in the lab at the Triebold Paleontology Inc headquarters at the Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park.
The public can come and view the bones up close and meet the people working on it, including Maltese, on Saturday, October 29th, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and will be able to see them through the lab window at any time.
In addition, Anthony Maltese will be speaking about the specimen at Fossil Craft Beer in Colorado Springs tonight from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
_____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
