Caleb Brown is a paleontologist with the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada, who has found a new use for a scientific paper — proposing to his girlfriend.
The researcher authored a paper describing the discovery of a previously-unknown species of dinosaur. In addition to his findings, he also announced to the world his intention to take the hand of his beloved in marriage.
Lorna O'Brien is said to have accepted the highly-unusual proposal to marry Brown.
"A New Horned Dinosaur Reveals Convergent Evolution in Cranial Ornamentation in Ceratopsidae" may not sound like the front of a greeting card, but the paper ended with the question, "Lorna, will you marry me?" The question came after Brown thanked her for her "unwavering support."
The bride-to-be has a doctorate in Palaeobiology and is "[i]nterested in fossils of all kinds, especially the spineless ones!" her Twitter profile declares.
The Regaliceratops, a previously-undescribed species of dinosaur, was detailed in the paper containing the unique marriage proposal. Study of the animal was based on analysis of a nearly-complete skull fossil. The vegetarian dinosaur, which lived in North America, featured small horns on its skull.
The odd appearance of this dinosaur gives it the nickname "Hellboy," appropriate for the features that gave the animal a fearsome look.
Excavating the dinosaur was hellish itself, as the ancient artifact was buried in a steep cliff. At the bottom of the incline was a waterway, home to an endangered fish. This meant that paleontologists could not let any rocks fall as they were digging out the fossilized skull. The body of the animal was not preserved over the years, but the skull is the most interesting part of horned dinosaur fossils for many paleontologists.
The happy couple has not yet announced a date for their nuptials, although O'Brien is doing her best to downplay the means by which her future husband proposed. The couple hopes that the story of their engagement does not overshadow the contributions made to the field of paleontology by the discovery and examination of the newly-described species of dinosaurs.
Since the discovery, the future bride has retweeted a handful of articles about the discovery of the Hellboy dinosaur.
The dinosaur was named after a fictional character with partial horns, first seen in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2, published in August 1993. The character is a well-meaning demon first summoned from Hades by Nazi scientists in 1944.
Analysis of the newly-discovered Regaliceratops and the marriage proposal was published in the journal Current Biology.
