DENVER — There’s a reason why the mascot for the Colorado Rockies is a purple dinosaur.
His whole persona was inspired by the discovery of a triceratops skull while crews were building Coors Field, and finds like this actually aren’t an anomaly in the Denver metro area.
We’ll let the Denver Museum of Nature and Science explain.
“Did you know that the Denver metro area is one of the largest populated areas in the world where you can find dinosaurs?” a Facebook post from the museum reads. “It’s true! This makes Denver one of the only places on Earth where you can find dinosaur bones in your own backyard!”
>> Watch the video above to learn about crazy beast fossils discovered in Colorado.
These remnants of the world long ago have been discovered in Denver and the surrounding communities for 130 years. Check out this map from the museum, which shows all of the places where bones have been found.
The red dots show fossil bones and teeth, and the dinosaurs themselves show the locations of significant discoveries.
According to the museum, nearly all of the dinosaurs are from the cretaceous period. They lived in the lush forests that were once at the base of the early Rocky Mountains.
Some of the discoveries include the “first ostrich-mimic dinosaur” and a Tyrannosaurus rex that was found while excavating a basement.
And of course, we’ve got to talk about the torosaurus found at a construction site in Thornton. That specimen was initially thought to be a triceratops, but for what it’s worth, a torosaurus is actually way more exciting and rare.
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