3 US School Children Discover Rare T. Rex Fossil: ''My Friends Don't Believe Me''

In an exciting discovery, three schoolchildren in the US found the fossils of an extremely rare juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex). The discovery was made on July 31, 2022, when brothers Liam and Jessie Fisher, and their cousin Kaiden Madsen were walking in North Dakota badlands, New York Post reported. The boys were aged 7, 10 and 9 respectively at the time of the discovery. 

The discovery has now been turned into a documentary narrated by Sir Sam Neill, who famously portrayed Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park films.

Notably, the trio spotted the fossils embedded in the rock formation of Hell Creek and sent a photo to a family friend and palaeontologist, Dr Tyler Lyson, to identify the skeleton's remains. To their utter surprise, Dr Lyson realized they had spotted a very rare juvenile T. rex. 

The bone size shows that Teen Rex was 13 to 15 years old at the time of its death around 67 million years ago. It likely weighed about 3,500 pounds (1,632 kg) was around 25 feet (7.6 meters) long from its nose to the tip of its tail and stood around 10 feet (3 meters) tall. 

''Juvenile rex specimens are extremely rare. This find is significant to researchers because the ‘Teen Rex' specimen may help answer questions about how the king of dinosaurs grew up,'' Dr Lyson said.

After the recovery, the fossil was encased in giant plaster jackets to protect the fossilized bones from breaking. 

''If we want to understand how quickly a T. rex grew up from a little chick-sized animal into an 8,000-pound monster, we need juveniles. This is going to be an important fossil and help us determine the rate of growth for the T. rex and how its skeleton changed over time,'' Dr Lyson added. 

''In addition, by embracing their passions and the thrill of discovery, three young scientists made an incredible dinosaur discovery that advances science, deepens our understanding of the natural world, and inspires other explorers and future scientists,” he further said.

The fossilized bone will be exhibited at the Denver Museum's 'Teen Rex Prep Lab'' in the coming weeks, and the film will premiere in Denver on June 21. 

''I'm excited for my friends to see the film. They don't believe me that I found a T. rex,'' said Liam.