From towering tyrannosaurs to exquisitely preserved marine creatures, the fossil record here is not only rich—it’s legendary.
It is hard to choose our best fossils as there are so many. I have my personal favorites, some found by me, some by good friends and others that rank high simply by my having the good fortune to be there at the moment of discovery.
These ten fossils stand out not only for their scientific value but also for the astonishing stories they tell about life on ancient Earth. Whether entombed in the Rocky Mountains, buried beneath Arctic permafrost, or hidden in coastal cliffs, each discovery shines a light on a world lost to time.
Honorable mentions are many for a list of this type. Dave Rudkin's find of the Isotelus rex, the largest known trilobite definitely ranks. There are some very fetching crabs and ammonites who deserve mention. As does the First Record of an Oligocene Chimaeroid Fish (Ratfish) Egg Capsule from Vancouver Island .
The isopod found by the deeply awesome Betty Franklin that is getting ready for publication by Torrey Nyborg is another superb example and makes my personal list. He also has an unexpected fossil lobster in the cue to write up that I found in the South Chilcotin many moons ago, so I will add that here to remind him!
On that note, Dr. Dave Evans has a paper in the works on the first dinosaur from Vancouver Island found by our own Mike Trask that will hopefully be out soon. There is a new paper by Phil Currie et al. on the fossil fauna from the Eager Formation near Cranbrook that bears mentioning as well as the work being done by Chris Jenkins, Chris New with Brian Chatterton on the Upper Cambrian fauna near there. We can add all the finds from Tumbler Ridge, Wapiti Lake and Miguasha National Park as well.
Oh, so many options!
So, this is by no means a complete list, but if you are wanting to check out the fossil bounty that Canada has to offer, it is a wonderful place to start!
1. Scotty the T. rex (Saskatchewan)
Discovered in 1991 near Eastend, Saskatchewan, Scotty is the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever found in Canada—and one of the oldest individuals known of its species. Weighing an estimated 8,800 kg and measuring over 13 meters, Scotty was a bruiser of a predator. The fossil is housed at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.
Reference: Funston, G. F., Currie, P. J., & Persons, W. S. IV. (2019). An older and exceptional specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex.
2. The Burgess Shale Fauna (British Columbia)
This World Heritage Site near Field, BC, offers a snapshot of the Cambrian Explosion (~508 million years ago), preserving soft-bodied creatures with extraordinary detail. Marrella, Opabinia, and Anomalocaris are just a few of the iconic oddballs discovered here by Charles Walcott in 1909. The site reshaped our understanding of early animal evolution. The fossils from this site have the most wonderous, albeit wacky, body plans see the world over!
Reference: Conway Morris, S. (1986). The community structure of the Middle Cambrian phyllopod bed (Burgess Shale). Paleontology, 29(3).
3. The Courtenay Elasmosaur (British Columbia)
Unearthed by my good friend Mike Trask along the Puntledge River in 1988, this long-necked marine reptile from the Late Cretaceous is one of BC’s most famous fossils—and its first major marine reptile discovery. Now housed at the Courtenay and District Museum, it inspired a new wave of paleontological exploration on Vancouver Island.
Mike gets the credit for this find and the founding of the first paleontological society in British Columbia (VIPS), the British Columbia Paleontological Alliance (BCPA) and inspired us all with his incredible curiosity and zest for life. He passed earlier this year and is incredibly missed!
Reference: Arbour, V. M., & Trask, M. (2023). A new elasmosaurid from the Late Cretaceous of British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
4. Dakota the Dinosaur Mummy (Alberta)
This extraordinary hadrosaur (Edmontosaurus annectens) found in 1999 features fossilized skin and soft tissue impressions. While partially excavated in North Dakota, it crossed into Canadian paleontological territory through the collaborative work between Canadian and American scientists. The mummy-like preservation gives unique insight into dinosaur musculature and skin texture.
Reference: Manning, P. L., et al. (2009). Mineralized soft-tissue structure and chemistry in a mummified hadrosaur. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
5. Zuul crurivastator (Alberta)
Discovered in 2014 in Montana but now part of the Royal Ontario Museum collection due to fossil trade agreements, Zuul is an astonishingly complete ankylosaur with preserved skin and tail club armor. Named after the Ghostbusters demon-dog, it’s as fierce as it is beautifully preserved.
Reference: Arbour, V. M., & Evans, D. C. (2017). A new ankylosaurid with exceptional soft-tissue preservation. Royal Society Open Science, 4(5).
6. Tiktaalik roseae (Nunavut)
Found on Ellesmere Island in 2004, Tiktaalik bridges the gap between fish and land vertebrates. With its fish-like body and amphibian-style neck and limbs, it's a critical fossil in understanding the water-to-land transition in vertebrate evolution.
Reference: Daeschler, E. B., Shubin, N. H., & Jenkins, F. A. (2006). A Devonian tetrapod-like fish and the evolution of the tetrapod body plan. Nature, 440.
If you have not had the pleasure, also pick up a copy of Shubin's book, Your Inner Fish. It is a classic read with the amazing tale of this fossil's discovery and Shubin's journey in paleontology.
7. Nodosaur from the Suncor Mine (Alberta)
In 2011, miners at a Fort McMurray oilsands site uncovered the best-preserved armored dinosaur ever found. The 110-million-year-old nodosaur is so well-preserved it looks like a sleeping dragon, with skin impressions, armor, and even stomach contents intact.
Reference: Brown, C. M., & Demarco, N. (2017). The rise of fossil preservation in Alberta’s oil sands. National Geographic, May Issue.
8. The Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Nova Scotia)
These coastal cliffs reveal the Carboniferous "Coal Age" (circa 310 million years ago) with fossilized trees, trackways, and even the oldest known reptile, Hylonomus lyelli. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Joggins provides unparalleled insight into early terrestrial ecosystems.
Reference: Carroll, R. L. (1964). The earliest reptiles. Journal of Paleontology, 38(1).
9. Parksosaurus (Alberta)
One of the lesser-known but scientifically significant dinosaurs from Alberta, Parksosaurus was a small, agile herbivore named after Canadian paleontologist William Parks. It contributes to our understanding of small ornithopods in the Late Cretaceous of North America.
Reference: Boyd, C. A. (2015). The systematic relationships and biogeographic history of ornithischian dinosaurs. Paleobiology, 41(3).
10. Blue Beach Fossils (Nova Scotia)
The Blue Beach site near Hantsport yields some of the oldest known tetrapod trackways in the world, from the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous period. These fossils document early vertebrate life coming onto land.
Reference: Mansky, C. F., & Lucas, S. G. (2013). A review of tetrapod trackways from Blue Beach. New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletin, 61.
Canada’s fossil discoveries span more than half a billion years of life on Earth. They showcase evolutionary milestones—from the earliest invertebrates to apex dinosaurs, marine reptiles, and the first vertebrates on land.
The fossils are the Rosetta stones of our country, unlocking the secrets of life's history.
