Triceratops skull excavated in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A seven-foot-long triceratops skull has been unearthed in South Dakota, a Missouri college has announced.

A geology professor and students from Westminster College were excavating fossil remains last year at the Grand River National Grassland when they were alerted that a rancher had discovered something unusual poking out of the earth.

The group found it was the tip of a triceratops horn, leading them to believe it could lead to a significant excavation. The college’s expeditions usually find just fragments of dinosaur bones.

The professor returned with students and alumni this summer, and they unearthed a skull that weighed 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms).

The skull was transported back to Missouri, where Westminster College is hoping to restore it.