Paleontologists learn from rare 'Teen Rex' specimen

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Details about a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered by three boys in North Dakota are beginning to take shape at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, including its size, age and how its body worked.

The T. rex fossil, affectionately named the “Teen Rex” because of its possible age, was discovered in the summer of 2023. Juvenile T. rex fossils are rare, according to the museum, which said there have been only a handful found in the world.

Fossil preparator Alex Polich exposes the fossil specimen in the Teen Rex Prep Lab at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. (DMNS photo / Rick Wicker)
Teen Rex’s foot bone in the jacket after it was air abraded. (DMNS photo/ Alex Polich)
Dr. Tyler Lyson, lead scientist of the project, and the trio of young fossil finders, Liam Fisher, Jessin Fisher, and Kaiden Madsen who discovered the remains of a juvenile T. rex skeleton while out looking for fossils with their dad Sam Fisher. (DMNS – Dr. Kirk Johnson)
In this photo provided by Giant Screen Films, chief preparator Natalie Toth, left, of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, examines fossilized plants from the Cretaceous period in a moment captured by the crew of the documentary “T.REX,” at a fossil dig site in North Dakota, named “The Brothers.” (Andy Wood/Giant Screen Films via AP)
Denver Museum of Nature & Science volunteer Aidan Skelly poses by the partial juvenile T. rex skeleton. (DMNS – Dr. Tyler R. Lyson)
The fossil finding family (clockwise from upper left: Sam Fisher, Emalynn Fisher, Danielle Fisher, Liam Fisher, Kaiden Madsen, and Jessin Fisher) pose with the field jacket after it was rolled into a helicopter net. (DMNS – Dr. Tyler R. Lyson)
Three tooth emerging from the sandstone. (DMNS – Dr. Tyler R. Lyson)
Denver Museum of Nature & Science volunteer Aidan Skelly poses by the partial juvenile T. rex skeleton. (DMNS – Dr. Tyler R. Lyson)