Daspletosaurus torosus

Where in the World?

Bones of a dinosaur later named Daspletosaurus torosus were discovered during the Golden Age of dinosaur collecting (1895-1925). During that time, the badlands of Alberta spurred what has been called the "Canadian Dinosaur Rush".

Dinosaurs had first been discovered in this region in 1884 by Joseph B. Tyrrell of the Canadian Geological Survey (Canadian Museum of Nature precursor). Hard on the heels of these early finds came full-scale bone-hunting expeditions led by dinosaur hunters from Canada and the United States.

In order not to be outdone by the Americans who were collecting dinosaur fossils for the American Museum of Natural History, the Canadian Geological Survey appointed Charles Hazelius Sternberg as their Head Collector and Preparator of Vertebrate Fossils, and sent him to Alberta. Sternberg, who became the best-known collector in the world, and his three sons would spend much of their lives digging dinosaurs.

It was one of his sons, Charles Mortram Sternberg, who discovered a complete skull and an incomplete skeleton of Daspletosaurus torosus on the banks of the Red Deer River near Steveville, Alberta, in 1921. Daspletosaurus torosus is a rare dinosaur, indeed. It is found in only one place in the world: Alberta. And, only three partial skeletons, three incomplete skulls, and one complete skull have ever been discovered.