This experienced plant-eater lumbered through what is now Western Canada about 110 million years ago until a flooded river swept it into the open sea. The dinosaur’s undersea burial preserved its armor in exquisite detail. Its scales still bear turtle-like plates and a gray pattern of fossilized skins.

A groundbreaking event named Shawn Funk stumbled upon the Earth’s treasure on March 21, 2011, without knowing that he would encounter an ancient dragon soon.

That Monday had started like any other at the Millennium Mine, a vast pit some 17 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, operated by energy company Syncrude.

Hours into his workday, Funk’s excavator uncovered something much harder than the surrounding rock. Oddly colored lumps tumbled out of the bucket and down onto the bank below. Within minutes, Funk and his supervisor, Mike Gratton, began puzzling over the walnut-brown rocks. Were they remnants of fossilized wood, or were they ribs? And then they turned one over and saw a 3-D pattern of fossilized skin on the bone—a level of preservation previously unknown in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossil of an ancient life he regularly saw. In 12 years of digging, he had stumbled upon fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal—and certainly no dinosaur.

But around 1:30, Funk’s bucket clipped something much harder than the surrounding rock. Oddly colored lumps tumbled out of the till sliding down onto the bank below. Within minutes, Funk and his supervisor, Mike Gratton, began puzzling over the walnut-sized rocks. Were they remnants of fossilized wood, or were they ribs? And then they turned one over and saw a 3-D pattern of fossilized skin on the bone—a level of preservation previously unknown in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossil of an ancient life he regularly saw. In 12 years of digging, he had stumbled upon fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal—and certainly no dinosaur.

But are these remains of fossilized wood, or are they ribs? And then they turned one over and saw a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone – a level of preservation previously unknown in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossil of an ancient creature he regularly saw. In twelve years of digging, he had stumbled upon fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal – and certainly not a dinosaur.

And then they turned one over and saw a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone – a level of preservation previously unknown in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossil of an ancient creature he regularly saw. In twelve years of digging, he had stumbled upon fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal – and certainly not a dinosaur.

So, are these rocks actually fossilized wood or are they ribs? And when they flipped one over, they discovered a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, a level of preservation that was previously unheard of in dinosaurs. It was the only fossilized remains of an ancient creature he had ever encountered. In his twelve years of excavation, he had come across fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, let alone a dinosaur.

However, these discoveries raised further questions: how often do these fossilized woods or ribs occur? And then they turned one over and found a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, something that had never been seen before in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossilized remains of an ancient creature he regularly encountered. Over twelve years of excavation, he had discovered fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, especially not a dinosaur.

And then they turned one over and found a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, something that had never been seen before in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossilized remains of an ancient creature he regularly encountered. Over twelve years of excavation, he had discovered fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, especially not a dinosaur.

And then they turned one over and found a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, something that had never been seen before in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossilized remains of an ancient creature he regularly encountered. Over twelve years of excavation, he had discovered fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, especially not a dinosaur.

But at around 1:30, Funk’s bucket hit something much harder than the surrounding rock. Oddly colored lumps rolled out, tumbling down onto the bank below. Within minutes, Funk and his supervisor, Mike Gratton, began examining the walnut-sized rocks. Were they remnants of fossilized wood or ribs? And then they turned one over and discovered a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, a level of preservation never seen before in dinosaurs. It was the only fossilized remains of an ancient creature he had encountered. In twelve years of digging, he had come across fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, particularly not a dinosaur.

These extraordinary findings raised further questions: were these rocks actually fossilized wood or ribs? And upon turning one over, they discovered a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, a level of preservation previously unseen in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossilized remains of an ancient creature he regularly encountered. Despite twelve years of excavation, he had found fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, let alone a dinosaur.

However, these findings brought about additional questions: were these rocks indeed fossilized wood or ribs? And upon turning one over, they came across a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, a level of preservation never seen before in dinosaurs. It was the sole fossilized remains of an ancient creature he had encountered. Throughout his twelve years of digging, he had stumbled upon fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, especially not a dinosaur.

These remarkable discoveries prompted more questions: were these rocks actually fossilized wood or ribs? And when they turned one over, they found a three-dimensional pattern of fossilized skin on the bone, a level of preservation that had never been seen before in dinosaurs. It was the only known fossilized remains of an ancient creature he regularly encountered. In twelve years of excavation, he had come across fossilized wood and the occasional petrified tree stump, but never the remains of an animal, particularly not a dinosaur.