After seven years of work, the best-preserved and most complete Triceratops skull from Canada, also known as the “Calli” specimen, is on display for the first time since its discovery in 2014 at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta.

A museum press release calls the specimen “unique” because of where it was discovered, the age of the rock surrounding it and how well it was preserved.

Following the floods that hit Alberta about 10 years ago, Royal Tyrrell staff were involved in flood mitigation paleontology work when the triceratops skull was discovered in 2014.

Triceratops fossils are rare in Canada. This skull was found in the foothills of southwestern Alberta, an area where dinosaur fossils in general are uncommon, and was nicknamed “Calli” after Callum Creek, the stream where it was discovered.

Transported by helicopter in giant, heavy chunks, the skull and most of the jaw pieces were removed over the course of a month in 2015. The rest of the Triceratops skeleton was not found.

The museum says that the dinosaur, which roamed the Earth about 68 to 69 million years ago, was buried in stages, evident by the process of fossilization.

“Paleontologists know this because the specimen was found in different rock layers and the poorly preserved horn tips suggest they were exposed to further erosion and wear,” reads a museum blog about the Triceratops skull.

“The rest of the skeleton was probably washed away,” he said, noting that the lower jaws were found downriver.

From 2016 to 2023, Royal Tyrrell technician Ian Macdonald spent more than 6,500 hours preparing this fossil, removing more than 815 kilograms of rock covering the skull. This Triceratops skull is the largest skull ever prepared at the museum and the third largest on display.

According to Macdonald, it was obvious that this was going to be a memorable project because of how “unusually beautiful” the specimen was.

“It has always been a very satisfying project to work on simply because it is such a high-quality specimen, as if the bone was beautifully preserved,” he said.

“All the grooves and pits and ridges, like all those details, they’re lovely and slightly warped, but they’re essentially three-dimensional and stuff. So it’s been a very rewarding project throughout.”

He added that his job was far from easy and there were many challenges along the way.

“It wasn’t just about removing the stone from the bone. There were a lot of other, quite technical aspects to work out… and that was quite fun.”

Triceratops is the largest and most famous ceratopsian, which was a group of beaked herbivorous dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous Period.

An “extraordinary specimen,” the Triceratops skull is part of Fossils in Focus, the Royal Tyrrell Museum’s newest installation focusing on the latest findings and research, on display now.

Caleb Brown, curator of dinosaur systematics and evolution at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, believes it is an excellent addition to the museum’s collection.

“Triceratops is one of the most iconic dinosaurs that people think of when they think of dinosaurs. It’s one of the top three, for sure,” he said. “We didn’t really have an original Triceratops until now. So this fills that gap … it’s the most complete and best-preserved Triceratops specimen in Canada.”