DALLAS -- Scientists from Southern Methodist University have helped a Dallas zookeeper and his 5-year-old son excavate a dinosaur fossil they found behind a grocery store.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Tim Brys and his son Wylie worked at the excavation site Tuesday to dig up what paleontology professor Dale Winkler believes could be a nodosaur, a pony-sized dinosaur that dwelled on land.
Brys and his son discovered the fossil last September, but it took over seven months to obtain necessary permits to dig up the bones. Scientists started digging last Friday.
University experts say it is rare to find a dinosaur in this area. The fossil, believed to be about 100 million years old, will be transported to Southern Methodist University for cleaning and assembly.
