Happy Birthday, Bruce: Mosasaur turns 80,000,042 in Manitoba

It was a roaring good time in Morden, Man. on SaturdayBruce Mosasaur turned80,000,042 and fans turned up to celebrate.

According to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, the celebration included cake, refreshments, singing happy birthday to the world's largestmosasaur (ancient sea creaturefor those who have not seenJurassicWorld) and even apiata.

The gathering was also a belated warm welcome for Bruce's life-sized replica, which arrived in Manitoba in May.

• 50-foot-long replica of Bruce the mosasaur coming to Morden

The real creaturewas dug up in a quintessentialPrairiepasture near the southwest Manitoba city in the1970s.

Mosasaurslike himand his companion,Suzy, who is also at the museum,used to cruise the shallows in search of prey during the Cretaceous period. Their fossils have been found as far afield as the Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Syria and across North America.

Digsites in southern Manitoba have also uncovered a prehistoric squid and bird fossils, giving scientists new insight into what Western Canada looked like 80 million years ago.