Student unearths 65 million-year-old Triceratops skull in U.S.July 25, 2019 - 11:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A young college student from California has been obsessed with dinosaurs since he was little. But he never expected to unearth a 65-million-year-old Triceratops skull on a recent dig in North Dakota. Harrison Duran, a fifth-year biology student with an emphasis in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Merced, uncovered the skull during a paleontology dig in the Badlands of North Dakota, CBS News reports. "I can't quite express my excitement in that moment when we uncovered the skull," Duran said in a news release from the university Wednesday. "I've been obsessed with dinosaurs since I was a kid, so it was a pretty big deal." Duran went on the two-week dig with fellow "bone digger" Michael Kjelland, an experienced excavator and biology professor at Mayville State University in North Dakota. Kjelland found a Triceratops skull in the area just last year, but was only expecting plant fossils this time around. The two were shocked when they came across the partial skull of a 65-million-year-old Triceratops. The skull has been playfully dubbed Alice the Triceratops, named after the owner of the land. She was found among plant fossils from the Cretaceous period. "It is wonderful that we found fossilized wood and tree leaves right around, and even under, the skull," Duran said. "It gives us a more complete picture of the environment at the time." It took a week to fully excavate Alice's fragile skull before she was carefully transported to Kjelland's lab. His goal is to have the skull used for educational purposes, but for now, her location will remain a secret. "My vision is to have Alice rotate locations," Kjelland said. "The goal is to use this find as an educational opportunity, not just reserve Alice in a private collection somewhere so only a handful of people can see her." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |