Released on January 7, 2025
Today, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Alana Ross joined scientists from the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) to showcase recent discoveries and research taking place in the province.
RSM scientists gave an insider's view of natural history field research which included fossil finds, bee and insect discoveries and research on Great Horned Owls and Kangaroo Rats.
"The Royal Saskatchewan Museum contains an extensive collection important to our provinces history and heritage, but it also serves as a facility that helps scientists from all over the globe study our natural world," Ross said. "We are proud to say the RSM is a world-class research institution, and we are excited to highlight some of the excellent work taking place behind the scenes."
Paleo Finds
RSM staff showed off some carefully excavated fossils from the last few summers.
In sites in the East Block of Grasslands National Park, researchers uncovered bones from Triceratops, and duckbilled dinosaurs that lived just before the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. In 2023, researchers also found a large soft-shelled turtle skeleton, from an animal that would have been a metre in length.
The soft-shelled turtle fossil is now on display in the museum.
Wildlife Research
Research taking place on Great Horned Owls and Kangaroo Rats in the province was also profiled.
Great Horned Owls are one of the most common owls in Saskatchewan. Historically, these birds were limited to treed valleys and small aspen forests in the agricultural region of the province.
The research is focused on understanding where owls have recently expanded their range in the agricultural region of the province and what features of the landscape have allowed them to be so successful.
The Ord's Kangaroo Rat is an endangered species in Canada and only lives in open sand dunes, including those in southwestern Saskatchewan. The program was developed to help understand the population structure of Kangaroo Rats across Canada and what characteristics make good quality sand dune habitat.
Entomology Finds
Looking into the world of insects, researchers highlighted specimens collected over the past few years and showed some of the newly recorded species of bees, wasps and other insects found in the province.
Saskatchewan is home to close to 300 different bee species, many of these are important pollinators of crops and wild plants in the province. The RSM currently has over 300,000 specimens in their collection.
Last spring, the RSM opened the Take a Closer Look Exhibit focusing on tiny invertebrate animals such as insects and spiders and brings them into focus for visitors to see.
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