1.7" Ornithimimid Metatarsal End - Alberta (Disposition #000028-29)

Ornithimimid Metatarsal End - Alberta (Disposition #-) #97354

First, a note on the legality of this fossil. Alberta has very strict laws pertaining to fossil collection. Fossils may not be removed from the province of Alberta without permission from the government. To gain ownership of a fossil, you must be issued a Disposition Certificate from Alberta's Royal Tyrrell Museum. Only a few fossil types are currently eligible for disposition: mostly ammonites, petrified wood, leaves and fossil oysters.

This specimen is part of a collection of dinosaur material that was collected by a single individual (Steve Walchina) decades ago prior to the current law. Because it was collected before the law went into effect, the collection was "grandfathered" in. The collection was reviewed by the Royal Tyrrell Museum and a disposition certificate issued for portions of it that were not considered scientifically significant. This moved the fossils into private ownership and allowed them to be removed from the province. The disposition certificate (#000028-29) is on file with the Royal Tyrrell Museum. This makes the small amount of Alberta dinosaur fossils we recently acquired from this collection some of the only legal Alberta dinosaur material on the market.

This is a 1.7" wide metatarsal epiphysis (bone end) of an ornithimimid, theropod dinosaur, from the Drumheller Valley of Alberta, Canada. Ornithimimids are a group of theropod dinosaurs that in many ways resembled the modern day Ostrich. Following research of their bone structure, it's believed that ornithimimids were either omnivorous or strictly herbivorous, and they were likely very fast runners.

This metatarsal epiphysis is in great condition, though unfortunately it wasn't found with the rest of the bone. However, the bone preserved nicely and the point of breakage exposes the osteons (bone cell canals).

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