Young girl uncovers rare 250–400 million-year-old sea star fossil at playground
Alyssa, 7, spotted the fossil embedded in a boulder at a Calgary park and alerted experts at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
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A seven-year-old Calgary girl with a passion for dinosaurs made an unexpected paleontological discovery at a neighbourhood playground, unearthing a rare ancient sea star fossil.
Alyssa spotted a dark shape embedded in one of the rocks bordering the playground and immediately recognized it as a fossil. She urged her parents to contact experts at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where specialists confirmed the discovery was a sea star fossil measuring about five centimetres across and dating back 250 to 400 million years.
According to Dr. Don Henderson, Curator of Dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, sea stars fossilize only under extremely specific conditions, making specimens of this age exceptionally uncommon and usually found at only a handful of sites worldwide.
The boulder had been placed during the playground's construction in 2005, meaning the fossil sat unnoticed for more than two decades. Museum staff used a diamond saw to remove the fossil while leaving the rest of the boulder in place. City crews repaired the area after extraction. Alyssa watched the removal from above and later held the fossil herself. Her parents described the moment as surreal and filled with pride.
The fossil will be cleaned, catalogued, and may eventually be displayed at the museum. City archaeologists remind residents that fossils are protected under Alberta's Historical Resources Act and should be reported directly to the Tyrrell Museum.