A group of paleontologists from Alberta, Canada has discovered an intact and complete fossilized skeleton of a baby dinosaur. They believed the creature died from drowning thousands of years ago.

The remains, discovered in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, measured 1.5 metres long. Scientists determined the baby dinosaur belonged to the Chasmosaurus belli specie, which falls under the ceratopsidae group of dinosaurs. Scientists said these beaked, horned, frill-headed, quadrupedal herbivores roamed southeastern Alberta 70 million years ago.

The fossilized skull of a Maastrichtian Age Chasmosaurine dinosaur is displayed as part of the "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs & Distinguished Fossils" collection at Bonhams auction house in New York, November 14, 2013. The collection will be auctioned on November 19. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The baby dinosaur was about three years old at the time of its unfortunate death.

Philip Currie, a paleobiologist at the University of Alberta and was the first to have found intact fossilized remains, said the discovery was a rarity.

"The big ones just preserve better: They don't get eaten, they don't get destroyed by animals," Mr Currie told portal everythingdinosaur.co.uk. "You always hope you're going to find something small and that it will turn out to be a dinosaur."

At the time, Mr Currie thought what he saw was an exposed portion of turtle shell on a hillside in the Dinosaur Provincial Park, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its treasure trove of ancient fossils. Further digging revealed it was the "frill" or decorative bone at the back of the head of the ceratopsids.

Scientists believed the dinosaur toddler drowned when it wandered into a river, based on the condition of its fossilized skeleton when it was discovered.

The baby dinosaur was discovered buried in layers of sedimentary material, which are often found at river bottoms. Scientists found no signs of violence, such as bite wounds and claw marks to indicate that it was killed and eaten by other dinosaurs.

"I think it may have just gotten trapped out of its league in terms of water current," Mr Currie said.