4 Year-Old Finds 100 Million Year-Old Dinosaur Bones While Digging In Construction Site Dirt

April 9, 2015

Dinosaur bones estimated to be 100 million years old are on their way to Southern Methodist University in Dallas for further study thanks to a very lucky 4 year-old boy who loves digging in the dirt with his father.

4 year old finds dinosaur bones
NBC News

The bones were discovered at a construction site in Mansfield, Texas. A Dallas zookeeper saw the piles of dirt dug up and thought there was a chance there could be fish fossils inside, knowing that the area was covered in water millions of years ago.

"We commonly go collect fossils, it's something we can do together to be outside," Tim Brys said.

"We were finding some fish vertebrae in the hillside, and then Wiley walked a little ways ahead of me and came back with a piece of bone. And I paused and was like, 'Okay, where did you find this?'"

4 year old finds dinosaur bones
NBC News

They didn't know it at the time, but what he discovered was a 100-million year old dinosaur bone. Experts believe the bones belong to a group of dinosaurs called the Nodosaur - about 15-feet long with hard, scaly plates on their back.

4 year old finds dinosaur bones
NBC News

Talk about beginners luck.

4 year old finds dinosaur bones
NBC News

Credit: NBCDFW.