In 1988, Guy Plint, an earth scientist, was researching sedimentary formations in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., that dated back 86 million years. During his study, he discovered tracks of duck-billed dinosaurs, making the area a UNESCO Global Geopark renowned for its prehistoric fossils. Collaborating with a local paleontologist, Dr. Charles Helm, Plint revealed in a recent publication that the fossilized footprints belong to the Coniacian age, from the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 85 to 89 million years ago.
These tracks, the northernmost found in North America, signify a shift in dinosaur species following the introduction of flowering plants as a food source. Prior to the Coniacian era, ankylosaurs dominated as herbivores, but duck-billed dinosaurs had since become the prevalent plant-eaters in the region. Tumbler Ridge, once a prehistoric delta adjacent to an inland sea, provided the setting for these evolutionary changes.
Plint’s research documented five exploration sites between 2022 and 2025, resulting in the recovery and curation of five individual tracks at the Tumbler Ridge Museum. These discoveries offer a unique glimpse into the ancient dinosaur community that thrived in the region. Eamon Drysdale, the museum’s paleontologist and curator, emphasized the importance of these findings in understanding the transition between dinosaur species and the evolution during the Cretaceous period.
Preserving these tracks to prevent damage, the museum continues to safeguard the valuable insights into the changing landscape and inhabitants of Tumbler Ridge millions of years ago.