Estimating past and future dinosaur skeletal abundances in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada

Dinosaur Provincial Park (DPP), Alberta, Canada, has lost 60% of its original volume to erosion, taking with it an estimated 1.5 million dinosaur skeletons—including 6,310 hadrosaurs, 1,640 ceratopsians, 1,030 ankylosaurs, and 1,600 theropods. Using digital elevation modeling to calculate exposed rock volumes and fossil densities across 5-meter slabs, researchers estimated that the remaining 40% of DPP could yield similar quantities—6,700 hadrosaurs, 1,700 ceratopsians, 1,010 ankylosaurs, and 1,720 theropods. This method, validated with a raisin-bread analogy, provides minimum estimates, as it excludes bone beds and isolated bones. The study highlights the significant fossil potential of DPP while underscoring the impact of erosion on paleontological discoveries.

Henderson, D. M., & Tanke, D. H. (2010). Estimating past and future dinosaur skeletal abundances in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 47(10), 1291–1304. https://doi.org/10.1139/e10-033