Schoolboys find rare 'teen rex' dinosaur skeleton in the US

The young explorers first spotted a large dinosaur leg bone, which led to an amazing discovery

Have you ever discovered something whilst on a walk?

Well, three children from the US decided to investigate when they found objects that looked like large bones whilst on a family hike.

After showing photos of the discovery to a palaeontologist - a scientist who is an expert in fossils - a dig began, uncovering the remains of a teenage T. rex, dating over 66 million years old.

The fossils are now to be displayed in a temporary exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, in the US.

The teen T. rex (pictured here in an artist's impression) would have been around 7.5 metres long, compared to a fully grown adult T. rex, which could grow to over 12 metres long

Brothers Liam and Jessin, aged seven and ten, were hiking with their dad and their nine-year-old cousin Kaiden in North Dakota when they first saw the dinosaur bone.

It took a year to organise the excavation once they had reported it to palaeontologist Dr Tyler Lyson.

After finding lots of T. rex fossils at the site, including a large leg bone and its lower jar, researchers at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science were able to work out that the dinosaur would have been a teenager due to the size of its shin bone.

A fully adult T. rex would have a shin bone of around 112cm long, whereas this one measured 82cm, meaning that it's likely to be a teenager.

One of the bones found was a teenage T. rex tooth, which was uncovered on the first day of the excavation

Teen T. rex fossils are very rare, with only a few specimens found worldwide.

Liam, Jessin, and Kaiden's find will allow scientists to study how the dinosaur would have grown into an adult.

Dr Lyson said: "By going outside and embracing their passions and the thrill of discovery, these boys have made an incredible dinosaur discovery that advances science and deepens our understanding of the natural world."

The museum's 'Discovering Teen Rex' experience will open to the public on 21 June

The museum displaying the bones is even releasing a documentary film about the discovery, narrated by actor Sam Neill, one of the stars of the original Jurassic Park films!

The three boys said that the T. rex was their favourite dinosaur - and that their favourite part of the dig was when a special military helicopter was used to lift the bones out of the site.

Liam Fisher holds one of the fossils he has discovered