Wyoming Dinosaur Center

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Wyoming Dinosaur Center
Museum overview.jpg
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
Established1995
Location110 Carter Ranch Rd.
Thermopolis, Wyoming,
United States
Coordinates 43°38′35″N108°11′59″W / 43.64297°N 108.199754°W / 43.64297; -108.199754 Coordinates: 43°38′35″N108°11′59″W / 43.64297°N 108.199754°W / 43.64297; -108.199754
Type Nonprofit
Website Official website

The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is located in Thermopolis, Wyoming and is one of the few dinosaur museums in the world to have excavation sites within driving distance. [1] [2] The museum displays the Thermopolis Specimen of Archaeopteryx , which is the only real specimen of this genus on display outside of Europe. [3]

Contents

Fifteen minutes from the museum are their many dig sites. Located on the Warm Springs Ranch, more than 10,000 bones have been discovered and excavated, most of which are either on display or stored just down the hill at the museum. One of the most notable fossil assemblies on the property is from the "Something Interesting" or SI excavation site. This site presents the rare occurrence of both dinosaur trace fossils and body fossils including footprints of many Sauropods and Allosaurus as well as skeletal remains from Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Apatosaurus - three of the sauropods most common in the area during the Late Jurassic. [4] Most of the bones belong to a juvenile (30 foot long) Camarasaurus that was scavenged by many Allosaurs . This is known based on the presence of both teeth and claw marks on many of the bones present as well as an abundance of shed Allosaur teeth (more than 100) found among the bone debris. Research conducted by Debra Jennings back in 2006, determined that the bones were accumulated in the past when the site was part of a shallow alkaline lake. There are in fact at least two separate layers of bone bearing material created as the lake expanded and shrank with changes in the environment over time.(Jennings 2006).

VOA report about the museum

Dig sites

Other dig sites include "Foot Site" or FS, which contains parts of at least three juvenile diplodocid with articulated hands and feet, "There You Are" or TYA, which contains the remains of multiple Allosaurs and has not been worked on over the past few years due to the discovery of a site called "Above There You Are" or ATYA, which contains the remains of what currently appears to be a single very young Diplodocid. One of the oldest sites on the property is called "Beside Sauropod" or BS, which has been active for over 20 years and produced over 1800 bones to date. Included at the site are at least 6 Camarasaurs and a partial Apatosaur as well as dozens of shed Allosaur teeth.

There are many more inactive sites found around the property including "Don't Fall," "Bone Bed," "Above Bone Bed," "West to Beside Sauropod," "Laura's Apatosaur," and "Cheryl's Blind" just to name a few. Out of all the dig sites discovered, the main concentration of bones belongs to one of the four following genera: Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus or Allosaurus.

During the winter, the excavation sites are closed to visitors, but over the summer months (late-May to mid-September) active digging occurs every day (weather permitting).

Collections and exhibits

The museum is open all year round and hosts a gallery with more than 50 mounted skeletons, including a full mount of Supersaurus vivianae excavated from a quarry near Douglas, Wyoming. The replica skeleton on display is 106 feet long and is the first mount based on data from the second and most complete Supersaurus ever found affectionately named "Jimbo" (WDC DMJ-001) which was donated to the museum in 2003. Other dinosaurs present include a T rex, Triceratops, Medusaceratops as well as various Hadrosaurs, Stegosaurs and Allosaurs. One of the newest members to the museum is the almost 90% complete, composite skeleton of a Camarasaurus found on the property by staff and visitors, excavated over the past 20 years. There is also a collection of real and replica marine reptiles, and flying reptiles. From these times before and after the dinosaurs, the museum hosts an impressive display of pre-Mesozoic fossils, including numerous Devonian fish and invertebrates. The more modern displays include fossil camels, horses, rodents and nimravids (sabretooth cat like animals).

The museum also houses a fully functional preparation lab, where staff and visitors can be seen cleaning, repairing and preserving fossils found on the property as well as from other locations around the country, all year long.

Programs

The Wyoming Dinosaur Center offers many programs that allow visitors to dig up dinosaurs. Starting end of May (depending on the weather) the Dig for the Day program starts. This program is for families and individuals that are interested in learning more about paleontology. The Dig for the Day begins at 8am and finishes at 5pm. All fossils found remain at the museum for science and research. Throughout the summer, many dates are available for the Kids' Dig. Children ages 8 to 12 learn all aspect of what The Wyoming Dinosaur Center does. They dig, work in the prep lab removing matrix from dinosaur bones and they learn molding and casting. Other programs include Dinosaur Academy, Senior Activities and Paleo Prep program.

Further reading

Jennings, D. (2006), "Taphonomic analysis of a dinosaur feeding site using geographic information systems (GIS), Morrison Formation, southern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA" (PDF), PALAIOS, 21 (5): 480–492, doi:10.2110/palo.2005.P05-062R, S2CID   55369947

Related Research Articles

<i>Apatosaurus</i> Sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic period

Apatosaurus is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. Othniel Charles Marsh described and named the first-known species, A. ajax, in 1877, and a second species, A. louisae, was discovered and named by William H. Holland in 1916. Apatosaurus lived about 152 to 151 million years ago (mya), during the late Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian age, and are now known from fossils in the Morrison Formation of modern-day Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah in the United States. Apatosaurus had an average length of 21–23 m (69–75 ft), and an average mass of 16.4–22.4 t. A few specimens indicate a maximum length of 11–30% greater than average and a mass of approximately 33 t.

<i>Allosaurus</i> Extinct genus of carnosaurian theropod dinosaur

Allosaurus is an extinct genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch. The name "Allosaurus" means "different lizard" alluding to its unique concave vertebrae. It is derived from the Greek ἄλλος and σαῦρος. The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to this genus were described in 1877 by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. As one of the first well-known theropod dinosaurs, it has long attracted attention outside of paleontological circles.

<i>Supersaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Supersaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. The type species, S. vivianae, was first discovered by Vivian Jones of Delta, Colorado, in the middle Morrison Formation of Colorado in 1972. The fossil remains came from the Brushy Basin Member of the formation, dating between 153 to 145 million years ago. It was a very large sauropod, with the WDC and BYU specimens reaching 33–35 metres (108–115 ft) in length and approximately 35–40 metric tons in body mass. A potential second species, S. lourinhanensis, (Dinheirosaurus) is known from Portugal and has been dated to a similar time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauropoda</span> Extinct clade of saurischian dinosaurs

Sauropoda, whose members are known as sauropods common know as long-necked dinosaur, is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads, and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Well-known genera include Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus.

<i>Camarasaurus</i> Camarasaurid sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic Period

Camarasaurus was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch, between 155 and 145 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diplodocidae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Diplodocids, or members of the family Diplodocidae, are a group of sauropod dinosaurs. The family includes some of the longest creatures ever to walk the Earth, including Diplodocus and Supersaurus, some of which may have reached lengths of up to 42 metres (138 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morrison Formation</span> Rock formation in the western United States

The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone and is light gray, greenish gray, or red. Most of the fossils occur in the green siltstone beds and lower sandstones, relics of the rivers and floodplains of the Jurassic period.

<i>Barosaurus</i> Diplodocid sauropod dinosaur genus from Upper Jurassic Period

Barosaurus was a giant, long-tailed, long-necked, plant-eating sauropod dinosaur closely related to the more familiar Diplodocus. Remains have been found in the Morrison Formation from the Upper Jurassic Period of Utah and South Dakota. It is present in stratigraphic zones 2–5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Como Bluff</span> United States historic place

Como Bluff is a long ridge extending east–west, located between the towns of Rock River and Medicine Bow, Wyoming. The ridge is an anticline, formed as a result of compressional geological folding. Three geological formations, the Sundance, the Morrison, and the Cloverly Formations, containing fossil remains from the Late Jurassic of the Mesozoic Era are exposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurassic National Monument</span>

Jurassic National Monument, at the site of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found, is a paleontological site located near Cleveland, Utah, in the San Rafael Swell, a part of the geological layers known as the Morrison Formation.

<i>Brontosaurus</i> Genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur

Brontosaurus is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, B. excelsus, had long been considered a species of the closely related Apatosaurus and therefore invalid, researchers proposed in 2015 that Brontosaurus is a genus separate from Apatosaurus and that it contains three species: B. excelsus, B. yahnahpin, and B. parvus.

<i>Dinheirosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Dinheirosaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that is known from fossils uncovered in modern-day Portugal. It may represent a species of Supersaurus. The only species is Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis, first described by José Bonaparte and Octávio Mateus in 1999 for vertebrae and some other material from the Lourinhã Formation. Although the precise age of the formation is not known, it can be dated around the early Tithonian of the Late Jurassic.

<i>Marshosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Marshosaurus is a genus of medium-sized carnivorous theropod dinosaur, belonging to the Megalosauroidea, from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah and possibly Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles W. Gilmore</span> American paleontologist

Charles Whitney Gilmore was an American paleontologist who gained renown in the early 20th century for his work on vertebrate fossils during his career at the United States National Museum. Gilmore named many dinosaurs in North America and Mongolia, including the Cretaceous sauropod Alamosaurus, Alectrosaurus, Archaeornithomimus, Bactrosaurus, Brachyceratops, Chirostenotes, Mongolosaurus, Parrosaurus, Pinacosaurus, Styracosaurus ovatus and Thescelosaurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neosauropoda</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Neosauropoda is a clade within Dinosauria, coined in 1986 by Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte and currently described as Saltasaurus loricatus, Diplodocus longus, and all animals directly descended from their most recent common ancestor. The group is composed of two subgroups: Diplodocoidea and Macronaria. Arising in the early Jurassic and persisting until the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, Neosauropoda contains the majority of sauropod genera, including genera such as Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Diplodocus. It also includes giants such as Argentinosaurus, Patagotitan and Sauroposeidon, and its members remain the largest land animals ever to have lived.

<i>Camarasaurus lentus</i> Species of sauropod

Camarasaurus lentus is an extinct species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic period in what is now the western United States. It is one of the four valid species of the well-known genus Camarasaurus. C. lentus fossils have been found in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. It is the species of Camarasaurus found in Dinosaur National Monument and the middle layers of the Morrison Formation. Camarasaurus lentus is among the best-known sauropod species, with many specimens known. A juvenile specimen of C. lentus, CM 11338, is the most complete sauropod fossil ever discovered.

<i>Amphicoelias</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Amphicoelias is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during the Tithonian of what is now Colorado, United States. Amphicoelias was moderately sized at about 18 metres (59 ft) in length and 15 metric tons in body mass, shorter than its close relative Diplodocus. Its hindlimbs were very long and thin, and its forelimbs were proportionally longer than in relatives.

<i>Diplodocus</i> Genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs (fossil)

Diplodocus was a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs, whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek διπλός (diplos) "double" and δοκός (dokos) "beam", in reference to the double-beamed chevron bones located in the underside of the tail, which were then considered unique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dippy</span> Diplodocus fossil

Dippy is a composite Diplodocus skeleton in Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the holotype of the species Diplodocus carnegii. It is considered the most famous single dinosaur skeleton in the world, due to the numerous plaster casts donated by Andrew Carnegie to several major museums around the world at the beginning of the 20th century.

References

  1. Sukut, Juliana (December 16, 2019). "TIME names Wyoming Dinosaur Center 1 of 50 coolest places for kids in the world". Billings Gazette . Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  2. Walker, Rachel (November 17, 2016). "'Stranger Things' Shannon Purser To Star In 'Sierra Burgess Is A LosA real Jurassic park lies underground at the Wyoming Dinosaur Centerer'". The Washington Post . Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  3. Moody, Richard; Buffetaut, E. (2010). Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Saurians: A Historical Perspective. Geological Society p. 239. ISBN   978-1-8623-9311-0.
  4. Billock, Jennifer (September 24, 2019). "Want to Dig For Dinosaur Bones? Join the Pros at These Spots". Smithsonian . Retrieved January 11, 2021.