Kansas Boy Unearths 15-Foot Tylosaurus Fossil Aged 85 Million Years

Q: A boy owns a priceless Cretaceous fossil. What happens to this discovery next?

Corbin Bullard’s fossil is most likely headed toward a mix of public display, scientific study and a decision later on about long-term custody, because he legally owns it after finding it on private land with permission. The immediate next step is already clear: Corbin, now 12, has been cleaning the specimen himself, a process that has taken more than 30 hours, and he plans to exhibit the skull at the Sedgwick County Fair in July 2026. The fossil is a nearly complete 15-foot tylosaurus from Kansas’s Smoky Hill Chalk, dated to roughly 82 million to 87 million years ago, making it scientifically important as well as visually striking. After that, the key issue is access. Because it is a vertebrate fossil of research value, paleontologists would typically want it documented in detail, likely through photography, 3D surface modeling and CT-style scanning, before any invasive work is considered. That would preserve data and allow specialists to compare it with newly revised tylosaurus species, including material from Kansas that is being reclassified. Legally, because the fossil came from private land, Corbin can keep it, loan it, donate it to a museum or eventually sell it. Scientists generally favor donation or long-term museum loan so the specimen remains available for research and public viewing. For now, though, the discovery is serving as both a rare scientific find and a hands-on education project that has already pushed Corbin toward a future in paleontology.

3 articles · Updated · LiveNOW from FOX · Jun 8

11-year-old Corbin Bullard found six or seven large vertebrae on a September 2025 4-H geology field trip, leading to the excavation of a more than 15-foot tylosaurus.
Three return digs with his Sedgwick County 4-H Geology Club uncovered nearly the entire marine reptile, including its skull, while a flipped-back neck made the fossil harder to identify in the ground.
Researchers dated the specimen to 82 million to 87 million years old from the Smoky Hills Chalk, when Kansas was covered by an inland sea and tylosaurus was an apex predator.
Corbin, now 12, plans to display the fossil's head at the Sedgwick County Fair in July; because it was found on private land with permission, the fossil belongs to him.
The discovery has reinforced Corbin's goal of becoming a paleontologist and highlighted the role of the local 4-H program, club leaders and landowners in making the excavation possible.