2. Fossil Find
• Discovered in the summer of 1916 by father and
son, Charles and Levi Sternberg
• Found in Steveville Badlands Dinosaur Provincial
Park in Alberta, Canada
• They were funded for this expedition by Percy
Trust on behalf of the British Museum of Natural
History
• Unfortunately, the skull fragments were deemed
“too scrappy” for the exhibit and were shelved
instead
3. Significance of Find
• Unexpected addition to the six centrosaurine
taxa already found within the same Dinosaur
Park
– Possible start of a new taxa of ceratopsians
• Possible link between Centrosaurus and
Styracosaurus
• Provided new information on epiparietals
– (The bone parts of the frills)
4. How do we know it’s a dinosaur?
• You can tell what you find is a dinosaur if you
recognize the shape of the bone or tooth from
other finds. Dinosaur bones are often larger
than other animal bones, but not always.
• The bones looked similar to the Centrosaurus
spp. and Styracosaurus albertnesis bones
already discovered.
5. • Spinops is around 74-76 million years old
– Determined through fossilized pollen found within
the rock encasing the bone
• The fossils found were caked in sandstone
– Possibly lived in dessert near edge of seaway
7. Late Cretaceous Climate/Habitat
• During Late Cretaceous, land and seas were moving and
changing.
• The climate in this particular area was warm, temperate and
on a coastal plain.
• Tall cypress trees lined rivers teeming with fish, turtles, and
crocodiles. Lush forests of sycamore and magnolia along with
ferns and mosses provided food and homes for all manner of
creatures, including small mammals. About 100 km to the
east, the warm waters of the Bearpaw Sea were filled with a
variety of invertebrates, sharks, and marine reptiles.
• Dominating the land was an amazing group of animals called
the dinosaurs. Over forty species have been found here,
joining a list of another 450 fossil organisms.
8. Charles and Levi Sternberg
• Levi was Charles’ son. Charles had several sons who
also worked on paleontology.
• 1912 moved to Alberta, Canada to collect and prepare
vertebrate fossils.
• during the next four years he and his three sons built
up a large collection of Upper Cretaceous dinosaurs,
including Spinops.
• The fossils were deemed too scrappy for exhibit, and
consequently were shelved for decades. It wasn't until
paleontologists recognized the importance of the fossil
in 2011 that the bones were finally cleaned for study.
9. Who is studying Spinops now?
• Andrew A. Farke leads a team, including Michael J.
Ryan(Cleveland museum of natural history), Paul M.
Barrett(Natural History Museum, London), Dennis R.
Braman, Mark A. Loewen(natural history museum of
Utah), Mark R. Graham,(Natural History Museum,
London) and Darren H. Tanke(royal Tyrrell museum of
palaeontology).
• He works for the Raymond M. Alf Museum of
Paleontology.
• The research was funded in part by the National
Science Foundation
10. Who is studying Spinops now? Cont’d
• Dr. Farke works on the evolution and functional
morphology of the ceratopsians.
• Dr. Farke is interested in Late Cretaceous
ecosystems in North America and Gondwana.
• Dr. Farke is actively involved in Society of
Vertebrate Paleontology, PaleoPortal, The Open
Dinosaur Project, and the Timber Lake and Area
Museum, as well as bringing paleontology to the
public through lectures, television, and
consulting.
11. What are the paleontologists like?
• Dr. Farke: “Best of all, it was a lot of fun to
work with some respected colleagues.”
• The men who worked on it are all from
different fields
– Paleontologists, historians, scientists who work on
cladisitics, etc.
12. What was field work like?/Interesting
Human Element
• Not much was recorded about the field work.
– Sternberg’s discovery dismissed by the museum.
• Currently, there are several scientists at the
museum in London working on it, as well as
the scientists in the United States.
• They have tried to find the exact spot where
the fossils are from, but as it wasn’t recorded
well in 1916, it’s difficult now.
