More Dino Fun in SW Saskatchewan: Meet the Dinos

Off Hwy 13 meet, “Mo”, the Ponteix Long-necked Plesiosaur (giant marine reptile) - Terminonatator ponteixiensis. Only ever found in Saskatchewan, it is known from a single skeleton found here. This fish-eating reptile lived 78 million years ago when this area was a shallow inland sea. Mo is estimated to have been about 8 m in length, over half of which was neck.

At Kyle, on Hwy 4, see the Woolly Mammoth – Mammuthus sp. The Kyle Mammoth is a 12,000-year-old elephant-like giant that has been the pride of the region since the 1960s.

“Mo” the Ponteix Long-necked Plesiosaur

Photo Courtesy of Shelley Banks

In Cypress Hills you can discover Brontothere - Megacerops sp. a rhino-like mammal from 35 million years ago found in southwest Saskatchewan, an area known to provide the best record of animal life in Canada during that time period. In Saskatchewan, Megacerops has been found mostly around the eastern flanks of the Cypress Hills. This particular specimen was found northwest of Eastend in 1971.

If you’re travelling to the northeast Saskatchewan you’ll learn about “Big Bert” - Terminonaris robusta – the best-preserved specimen of this 92 million-year-old crocodile was discovered along the bank of the Carrot River in 1991.

Swift Current is a full-service city of 16,000 people situated along the Trans-Canadan Highway, 170 km west of Moose Jaw.

It is a terrific hub from which to explore The Grasslands National Park and all of southwest Saskatchewan.