( CNN ) -- This Pachyrhinosaurus can go to the head of its class . It 's not often , after all , that you can see and touch a skull that 's about the size of a Smart Car , about 70 million years old and looks like a mutant blend of a triceratops and giant parrot . University of Calgary paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky first made the mammoth find in Alberta 's Badlands , then revealed it to the world Thursday . `` It almost looks like some sort of mythical beast , '' Zelenitsky said . `` Because it is so big and ( mature ) , it makes for a very strange-looking individual . '' This is n't the first Pachyrhinosaurus discovery -- that came in the mid-20th century -- and there have been other notable such finds since then in Canada 's Alberta province and Alaska . But what makes this one unique is how well preserved the skull is ( 75 % to 80 % complete , which is remarkable for a dinosaur ) , the fact it 's from an older Pachyrhinosaurus ( therefore more can be learned from it than a younger version ) , and , of course , its immense size . Not that Zelenitsky 's team knew all that when they spotted a bumpy rock in mid-October while exploring exposed southern Alberta 's Drumheller -- a town that calls itself the Dinosaur Capital of the World for a reason , given the outcrops that make it a paleontologists ' dream . A little digging led to more digging and , after about three days , the realization that they 'd found a gigantic dinosaur skull . It took several more months ( and the removal of 5 tons of rock ) to unearth it in three pieces and show it off to the world . Still , a lot of work needs to be done to peel away remaining surrounding rock and examine the skull in more detail , not to mention see it in full . `` It was really exciting because , when we started , there really was n't much there , '' Zelenitsky , an associate professor in the University of Calgary 's geoscience department , said . `` Then , the skull was not really ending it was so big . '' Even with more to peel back , Zelenitsky already calls this skull one of the biggest , if not the biggest , of any Pachyrhinosaurus ever discovered . Given its distinct nature , she and fellow paleontologists will be trying to determine if it is part of its own species or just a big version of an existing one . ( There are three known species of Pachyrhinosaurus as is . ) Even if it 's part of previously discovered Pachyrhinosaurus species , there 's no doubt this skull is quite a sight . The herbivore 's beak at the front of its snout was likely used to crop vegetation . Behind that are rows of teeth that finished off whatever greens made it into the mouth . Then there 's what Zelenitsky describes as a `` huge , almost platter-shape structure '' and the dinosaur 's frill . Instead of pointed horns like a triceratops , Pachyrhinosaurs have masses of bones atop their heads likely used in head-butting rituals to compete for mates or perhaps for combat . The entire skull is about 2 to 2.5 meters ( 6.5 to 8 feet ) long ; the entire animal is only 6 meters , meaning this Pachyrhinosaur ( as well as its kin ) was very top heavy . `` These animals had huge skulls relative to their bodies , '' said Zelenitsky .
A University of Calgary paleontologist pulls off a Pachyrhinosaurus skeleton . It 's one of the biggest , if not the biggest , of its kind at 2 to 3 meters , she says . The skeleton is also remarkably intact , though there 's still more to come . Pachyrhinosaurs lived about 50 million years ago in Calgary 's Alberta and Saskatchewan .