A paleontologist and TikTok creator is drawing attention online after sharing a fossil mystery that emerged during a mosasaur excavation in New Mexico. What started as the recovery of a giant marine reptile fossil took an unexpected turn when researchers discovered a hollow bone embedded in the same rock — one that may belong to an entirely different dinosaur.
The video has since attracted thousands of likes as viewers followed along with the unusual find and the questions it raises.
@jared.cooke The most insane plot twist I've ever experienced in the field. Needless to say, either scenario makes for an important and interesting find in these marine sandstones. If Theropod, how did these bones arrive in a marine layer? Was it a bloat and float? Were tumbled bones washed out of a river mouth? Perhaps even an animal with marine habits! Time to hit the lab to tell… Dig partner: @Elasmocast and Harrison from @Tyrannostorus . . . #paleontology #fossils #fossilhunting ♬ Mosasaur Spa - Kara Talve & Anže Rožman
What happened?
In a recently posted TikTok from a New Mexico canyon, field paleontologist Jared Cooke (@jared.cooke) shows his team working around what they believed was part of a mosasaur jaw.
After three days of exploring the canyon, Cooke shows footage of a rock face and tells viewers there may be a fossil hidden within it.
Based on its anatomy, Cooke believes it could be a mosasaur jaw.
"This is huge," Cooke said. "I cannot believe it."
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The discovery kicked off a careful excavation process as the team worked to locate the fossil, drill around it, and safely remove it from the surrounding rock. Once the specimen was freed, they flipped it over to get a closer look at what they had uncovered.
Underneath, the team found something unexpected: a hollow bone that mosasaurs do not have. Cooke raised the possibility that the specimen could belong to a theropod, a group of land-dwelling, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs.
"That is a hollow bone, which mosasaurs do not have, so maybe and just maybe this could be a theropod," Cooke said.
On TikTok, Cooke described the moment as the biggest "plot twist" he had ever experienced in the field.
Why does it matter?
The discovery raises questions about how the bones ended up together.
That puzzle depends on whether the hollow bone is truly theropod.
Such a discovery could offer clues about the way animals traveled through ancient environments, how terrestrial and marine settings overlapped, and what those interactions reveal about New Mexico's distant past.
What are people saying?
Although it will take time to identify the fossil, that didn't hold back commenters from sharing their excitement over the find.
"You make me wanna change my career," one user said.
"So you found a dragon," another joked.
"This is absolutely incredible, what an adventure," another said.
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