Several years ago, a mining project in Western Canada resulted in a remarkable discovery that is still fresh in our minds. During their work, a group of miners stumbled upon the most well-preserved dinosaur carcass ever found by modern science.

This particular dinosaur, called a nodosaur, was an herbivore that measured about 18 feet long and weighed around 3,000 pounds. The discovery took place in 2011, 17 miles north of Alberta, Canada, and it has fascinated scientists ever since. The fossil is so well-preserved that we might be able to learn a great deal about the dinosaur’s life and demise.

According to experts, the remains appear to be only a few weeks old, even though the dinosaur perished over 110 million years ago. The reason for this is that the carcass was kept under optimal conditions for preservation.

The Borealopelta dinosaur, which means “Northern shield,” was a nodosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period. Like many other creatures of its time, it met its untimely end after being swept away by floodwaters from a river that eventually flowed into the ocean.

The impressive state of preservation of the dinosaur’s skeleton is credited to its thick armor, which covers its entire body in tile-like plates and fossilized skins with a gray patina.

In 2011, while operating heavy machinery at the Millennium Mine, Shawn Funk made an unexpected discovery. His excavator struck a solid object that turned out to be the fossilized remains of a nodosaur, an imposing herbivore that lived 110 million years ago. The front half of the dinosaur, from its snout to its hips, was recovered.

According to Michael Greshko of National Geographic, the petrified remains of the dinosaur are a marvel to behold. The creature’s rapid subsea burial allowed it to remain virtually unchanged for millions of years. Paleontologists consider it extremely rare that the tissue of the dinosaur did not decompose but rather fossilized.

Unlike its close relative, the Ankylosauridae, nodosaurs did not have shin-splitting tail clubs. Instead, they relied on prickly armor to deter predators. This 18-foot-long dinosaur, which lived during the Cretaceous period, could be thought of as the rhinoceros of its time.