Weld County's connection to National Fossil Day

Published on October 11, 2024

Weld County has its very own mascot — Pops the Triceratops! And in honor of National Fossil Day on Oct. 16, we put together a list of facts related to our prehistoric friend. The fossilized skull of the triceratops employees later named Pops was discovered in 1982 on land owned by Mr. and Mrs. Roland Mapelli near Briggsdale. In 1986, the Mapellis donated Pops to Weld County Government where it quietly graced the lobby of Weld County's administration buildings, first at the Centennial Center in downtown Greeley and later in the new Administration Building at the northern edge of town. He then took a two-year adventure to a few places to be studied and refurbished. Find out more about this amazing fossil below.

1. In 2018, then Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) Curator of Dinosaurs, Dr. Joe Sertich, reached out to Weld County Government with a request to have Pops studied. And in the fall of 2020, that became reality when Pops traveled south to the DMNS.
2. Pops roamed what is now northern Colorado 69 million years ago. Although the smaller size of its skull would lead one to think it was a younger triceratops, arthritis in its tail gives a clue that it may have been an older dinosaur.
3. Pops was the size of a water buffalo. Most triceratops were the size of an African elephant.
4. Through an official resolution in 1985, Pops was declared the official fossil of Weld County.
5. In addition to the fossilized bones in the original display case, the DMNS cleaned and restored three additional boxes of bones, including ribs, lower jaw, bits of tail and a neck frill.
6. After millions of years of being weighed down by sediment, Pops' skull was fairly thin when discovered. Its horns were also twisted and squished.
7. After DMNS cleaned and studied the fossilized bones, they sent them to Robert Gaston, who built a new base for the skull and new display cases for the fossils.
8. Pops’ frill was 66 inches long. The triceratops is known for its distinctive large neck frill, which can be found on the back of the head and is theorized to serve multiple functions, including defense against predators.
9. Famed paleoartist, Andrey Atuchin, was commissioned by the DMNS to create new artwork for the upgraded display cases.
10. Other well known fossil sites exist in Weld County: the buffalo wallows in Windsor and the Dent Site in Milliken.

Digging for more information? Be sure to visit the Pops the Triceratops page.