Special ExhibitionsTriassic Giant
Featuring the world's largest marine reptile Shonisaurus sikanniensis, this exhibit is also a special tribute to our former Curator of Marine Reptiles, Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Nicholls.
Discovered in the early 1990s along the bank of the Sikanni Chief River in northeastern British Columbia, scientists were deterred from excavating the specimen due to its size, (the creature measured a spectacular 21 metres in length) and remote location. However, Dr. Nicholls and her crew recognized its scientific value and vulnerability (there was a high risk of damage due to submersion) and embraced the challenge. It took three field sessions (1999-2001) to excavate this "Triassic Giant" from its remote resting place.
