Smithsonian.com

A metallic Triceratops, photographed on the grounds of a Minneapolis mansion. Photo by Mark Ryan.

I never would have thought of Minnesota as a hot spot for dinosaurs, but reader Mark Ryan keeps sending in sightings from the Gopher State. His latest submission is of one of several metallic dinosaurs that once graced the lawn of a mansion in uptown Minneapolis. The question is, what dinosaur was it? It clearly had the elongated frill and brow horns of what has previously been called Torosaurus, but the solid frill is a dead giveaway for Triceratops. Given the new debate over whether “Torosaurus” is really just an adult Triceratops, perhaps this sculpture can be seen as a sort of transitional growth phase, though—since it was built many years ago and has recently disappeared from the lawn—I wouldn’t bet on it.

Have you stumbled across a dinosaur in an unexpected place? If you have, and have a photo of the encounter, send it to us via dinosaursightings@gmail.com!