Palaeontologist Mike Getty Dies Unexpectedly

Celebrated fossil hunter and chief fossil preparator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Mike Getty, has died unexpectedly whilst working on a Triceratops excavation north of Denver (Colorado).

A Triceratops fossil, most probably a young adult, was discovered by chance as a construction crew was removing top soil as part of the initial groundworks prior to the building of a new fire and police station.

Mike was part of a field team from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science helping to excavate and jacket the fossil bones.  Much of the material had already been removed, but Mike and some colleagues were still working on the site Monday, when he was suddenly taken ill.

Mike Getty – Famous Palaeontologist Dies Suddenly at Dig Site

Renowned palaeontologist Mike Getty sadly passed away on Monday.

Picture credit: Denver Museum of Nature and Science

A Career Dedicated to the Earth Sciences and Education

Raised in western Canada, Mike discovered a fascination for palaeontology and dinosaurs as a child, his enthusiasm was fired as a result of frequent visits to the Badlands of Alberta.  He developed a keen interest in fossils and quickly earned a reputation for being able to detect and identify fossils in the field.  He attended the University of Calgary (Alberta) and went on to lead many field teams in the world-famous Dinosaur Park Formation, uncovering and helping to map several ceratopsian bonebeds.

Mike joined the Natural History Museum of Utah and took part in numerous excavations and helped prepare for research and public display a large number of fossil vertebrates.  He joined the Denver Museum of Nature and Science four years ago and his sudden death, at fifty years of age, has shocked and greatly saddened all his colleagues and co-workers.

Mike Getty Working at the Thornton Triceratops Excavation

Mike Getty working on a Triceratops excavation.

Picture credit: Denver Museum of Nature and Science

A Dedicated Scientist and Teacher

Described as a dedicated scientist with a quirky, fun-loving personality, Mike’s contribution to palaeontology was recognised in 2010 when the horned dinosaur Utahceratops (U. gettyi) was named in his honour, a reflection on his contribution to the study of dinosaur fossils found in southern Utah.

Utahceratops gettyi – The Species Name Honours Mike Getty

The Late Cretaceous ceratopsian Utahceratops gettyi was named in honour of Mike Getty.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Utahceratops gettyi Honours Palaeontologist

The species name honours Mike Getty of the Utah Museum of Natural History who has been prominent in the study of dinosaur fossils found in southern Utah.  One of Mike’s last public engagements was presenting to the media an update on the Thornton Triceratops excavation.  As a skilled preparator, he knew what was required in order to ensure the preservation of delicate fossil material and the dinosaur fossil record of the western United States and Canada would have been much poorer but for the efforts of Mike.

Dr Andrew Farke of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Palaeontology (Claremont, California), who worked with Mike on the Utahceratops study commented:

“He was a character in every sense of the word.  He was quirky, he had a personality and he was one of those people… it’s really hard to imagine that he’s gone now.”

To read Everything Dinosaur’s article on the discovery of Utahceratops: The Curious Ceratopsians Just Got Even More Curious.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur said:

“Our thoughts are with family and friends.  We have had the very great pleasure of being able to write about Mike’s numerous achievements in the field of palaeontology on this blog and he will be sadly missed.  We were due to write about the Thornton Triceratops excavation and the discovery of a broken tyrannosaur tooth amongst the horned dinosaur’s fossil bones.  It was thanks to Mike’s diligence and skill that small fragmentary fossils such as this tyrannosaur tooth could be preserved and studied, adding to our knowledge about the dinosaurs that once roamed western North America.”