Dinosaur Bone Found in Construction Site Costs Developer $4 Million in Delays, Described as 'The Most Expensive Femur in History'

A luxury condominium development in downtown Denver has been halted indefinitely after construction workers unearthed a fossilized dinosaur femur during routine foundation excavation, triggering a cascade of regulatory requirements that the developer estimates has so far cost $4.2 million in delays and compliance expenses. 'It's a bone,' said developer Richard Granite of Apex Properties. 'One bone. A big bone, admittedly. But one bone. And it has cost me more than the foundation itself.' The femur, identified by consulting paleontologists as belonging to a large sauropod — likely Apatosaurus or a closely related taxon — was discovered three meters below the planned parking garage level. Federal and state antiquities laws require that the find be properly documented, the surrounding matrix examined for additional material, and the specimen safely extracted before construction can resume. 'We've found associated material,' said site paleontologist Dr. Kevin Overburden, struggling to contain his enthusiasm. 'There are at least twelve more elements in the immediate vicinity. This could be a partially articulated specimen. In downtown Denver. It's extraordinary.' Granite was less enthused. 'Every bone he finds is another month of delay,' he said. 'He keeps calling things "extraordinary" and "unprecedented." I keep calling my accountant.' The developer acknowledged briefly considering not reporting the find. 'For about thirty seconds,' he said. 'Then my foreman pointed out that seventeen guys had already posted it on Instagram, three news trucks were in the parking lot, and a paleontologist from the Denver Museum was already climbing over the fence with a brush in her teeth.' Dr. Overburden has estimated the excavation will require 'four to six months, minimum.' He described Granite's reaction to this timeline as 'anatomically impossible.'