Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center

Dinosaurs

Albertosaurus libratus
Pronounced (AL-BER-TO-SORE-US LI-BRA-TUS)

Nickname: "Pebbles"
Discovery Location: Teton County, Montana
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 75 million years
Formation: Two Medicine
Length: 20 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Museum of Ancient Treasures Wichita, Kansas

Albertosaurus was a 20 to 25 foot long carnivorous dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of North America. Its skull was full of dagger-like teeth designed to catch and kill medium and large prey like hadrosaurs, small ceratopsians and other ornithischians.

Albertosaurus, as you can probably surmise, is a very close relative of the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex. It lived in the same area and filled a similar role as Tyrannosaurus, but lived some 10 million years earlier in time.

Bambiraptor feinbergi
Pronounced (BAM-BEE-RAPTOR FINE-BERG-EYE)

Discovery By: Wes Linster, 1995
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 80 million years
Formation: Two Medicine
Length: 3ft
Location of Original Specimen: American Museum of Natural History

Bambiraptor is a juvenile predator, closely related to Velociraptor. The name "Bambi" comes from the Italian word "bambino", or "baby". Originally discovered in 1995 by a 14 year old amateur fossil hunter, the skeleton turned out to be one of the most complete raptors ever discovered in North America, with approximately 95% of the bones present.

Bambiraptor has the largest brain compared to its body size of any dinosaur, indicating that it was one of the more intelligent animals at that time. Studies rank it's intelligence as on par with the average modern Opossum.

Conchoraptor gracillis
Pronounced (KONK-O-RAPTOR)

Discovery By: Barsbold, 1986
Diet: Small Animals & Mollusks (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 80 million years
Formation: Omnogov
Length: 5ft
Location of Original Specimen: Mongolia

Though Conchoraptor seems small compared to our new North American Oviraptor, it is actually average sized. The light color of the bones show that it was fossilized with different minerals than most of the skeletons you see on exhibit.

Scientists continue to debate the diet of these beaked theropods. The scientific name, meaning "slender conch (shell) thief", illustrates the theory that oviraptors used their strong parrot-like beaks to crack open the shells of mollusks. Other scientists suggest the lack of teeth and strong claws make it a Cretaceous anteater.

Dromaeosaurus albertensis
Pronounced (DRO-MAY-O-SORE-US AL-BER-TEN-SIS)

Discovery By: Mathew and Brown, 1922
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 85 million years
Formation: Judith River
Length: 8 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Royal Tyrell Museum, Alberta, Canada

Dromaeosaurus is one of the most interesting and deadly dinosaurs to have walked the planet. Small in stature but impressive in stealth, this animal was one of the top carnivores of the Late Cretaceous (70 million years ago) in the North American continent. Its main diet consisted of small and medium sized plant eaters like Thescelosaurus, Orodromeus, juvenile Triceratops, and young duck billed dinosaurs. It probably also supplemented its diet with small lizards, birds, mammals, and when young, insects.

Dromaeosaurs are also informally known as "raptors" (made famous by the Jurassic Park films). The raptors include an entire family of dinosaurs some of which attained much greater sizes than Dromaeosaurus. All raptors, however, share one key characteristic...a sickle-shaped killing claw on its hind foot. This claw was held off the ground and was used for disemboweling prey. Another unique characteristic of raptors is that they were all probably pack hunters, making them all the more dangerous.

Edmontosaurus annectens
Pronounced (ED-MON-TO-SORE-US AN-NECK-TENS)

Nickname: "Survey"
Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1995
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Plant Eater (Herbivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 24 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Fukui Prefectoral Museum, Japan

Edmontosaurus was a plant eating, 20 to 35 foot long dinosaur, commonly called a "duck bill", or a "hadrosaur". Duckbills traveled in large herds (based on trackways, and mass kill sites), to protect themselves from predators. This particular Edmontosaurus displays evidence of having fought a battle with a terrible predator.

Look closely at its lower jaw. There are tooth marks, indicating that it had been attacked. A close examination of those marks reveals that the bone tissue is frothy and has partially healed. This means that this creature survived the initial attack, living for several days, weeks or possibly years before dying of infection or another cause.

Also on display is a juvenile Edmontosaurus, added to the dinosaur hall in 2007. This specimen measures approx 15 feet long and sits below and to the right of the adult.

Juvenille Edmontosaurus

Oviraptor - North American
Pronounced (O-VI-RAPTOR)

Nickname: "C1" and "C2"
Discovered By: Fred Nuss, 1999
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Small Animals (Carnivore)
Period: Late-Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 9 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

One of the last dinosaurs to grace the planet was this extremely strange looking creature. This new genus of North American Oviraptor (family Caenagnathidae), has yet to be named or described. Compared to other oviraptors, which are predominantly found in Asia, this new genus was much, much larger. Like its oviraptor cousins, it had an unusual crest on its head that might have been multi-colored in life. Unlike other carnivorous dinosaurs, it had a toothless beak that it could use to catch and kill small prey or eat carrion. It also had extremely long claws that it may have used for defense to fend off would-be aggressors or during hunting or scavenging activities. In many respects, it resembles the modern day cassowary, a crested, flightless bird of Northern Australia and New Guinea.

The composite cast mount you see before you is based on two nearly complete skeletons discovered only a few hundred feet apart.

Though isolated bones of this animal have been found for many years in the Hell Creek Formation, these two skeletons represent the only partial skeletons known to science.

Pachycephalosaur wyomingensis
Pronounced (PAK-E-SEF-A-LO-SORE-US WHY-O-MING-EN-SIS)

Nickname: "Sandy"
Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1994
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Plants & Animals (Omnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 9 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA

The first thing that you will notice about this animal is its thickened dome shaped skull and hornlets. It basically had a football helmet for a skull, and some paleontologists think that it would butt heads with other Pachycephalosaurs in competition over mates and territory.

For almost 100 years only a few skull specimens were the only things discovered from this animal. The specimen you see standing represents the first specimen ever found with both a skull and a partial skeleton. The first Pachycephalosaur skull was found in eastern Montana in 1943. Since that time, only 3 other semi-complete skulls have been discovered.

Pachycephalosaurs were probably herbivores for the most part, but may have eaten small lizards, snakes, or mammals if the opportunity presented itself.

Stygimoloch spinifer
Pronounced (STIG-EE-MOE-LOCK SPIN-IF-ER)

Nickname: "Stiggy"
Discovery Location: Montana
Diet: Plants and Animals (Omnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 10 ft

Stygimoloch, known as the "spiny river devil," is a member of the pachycephalosaurid family of dinosaurs, which is the same family of dinosaurs that includes the better-known Pachycephalosaurs. This dinosaur was smaller and had a skull that was not quite as thick as the Pachycephalosaurus. The domed skull was adorned with large spikes and multiple clusters of smaller nodes.

Stygimoloch is an interesting dinosaur for several reasons. Although it lived in the late Cretaceous, it had a number of primitive characteristics such as five fingers. Stygimoloch had leaf shaped teeth in the back of its mouth, but the front of the mouth was filled with sharp incisors similar to a carnivore. This dinosaur was possibly an omnivore due to its differentiated teeth.

Struthiomimus altus
Pronounced (Stroo-thee-o-mime-us alt-us)

Nickname: Margie
Discovery Location: Glendive, MT 1997
Diet: Small Animals,Plants,Insects (Omnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 16 ft
Location of Original Specimen:On Loan

The name Struthiomimus means "ostrich mimic" because of the way the skull and body resembles the modern bird. Its long legs suggest it was a fast runner, and the long hand claws could be used for grasping prey or ripping into rotten logs for insects. Struthiomimus is closely related to other bird mimic dinosaurs, such as Gallimimus and Ornithomimus, however these theropods are not thought to be the ancestors of modern birds.

Margie was 70% complete and articulated when discovered in 1997, including a complete skull, making it one of the best Struthiomimus specimens ever found.

Thescelosaurus
Pronounced (THES-A-LO-SORE-US)

Nickname: "Peep"
Discovered By: Walter W. Stein, 2000
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Plants & Animals (Omnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 9 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Museum of Ancient Treasures, Wichita, Kansas

Thescelosaurus was a small to medium sized ornithischian dinosaur that browsed the late Cretaceous floodplains looking for a tasty plant to chew upon. Related to other small hypsilophodonts like Hypsilophodon, Dryosaurus, Tentontosaurus and Orodromeus, it is very primitive in its skeletal features. Unlike most ornithischians it retains teeth in sockets instead of rows of tooth batteries found in the hadrosaurs and ceratopsians.

One of the most exciting discoveries of the last ten years involved a Thescelosaurus named "Willow". Preserved in Willow's chest were remnants of a fossilized heart. Organs and soft tissues almost never become fossilized, so this discovery was incredible to the paleontological community. What Willow's heart taught us, is that at least some dinosaurs had a 4- chambered heart, like dinosaurs' closest relatives, crocodiles and birds. It also provided evidence that dinosaurs were warm blooded like birds and mammals.

Though Peep was not discovered with any fossilized organs, she is a beautiful and important dinosaur nonetheless.

Tyrannosaurus rex
Pronounced (TY-RAN-NO-SAU-RUS REX)

Discovered: 1987
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 40 ft

One of the largest meat-eating land animals, T. rex is arguably the most popular and most controversial of all dinosaurs. The first T. rex parts were discovered in 1892. Today, there have been more than 35 specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex located and this skeleton is one of the largest and most complete on record.

T. rex was fast and deadly, killing with its bone-crushing teeth and the phenomenal force of its bite. Scavenger? Possibly, but even the most vicious carnivores will take an opportune meal when they come across one. Tyrannosaurus had a huge 5-foot skull with powerful jaws lined with 10-inch teeth.

Other Reptiles

Champsosaurus laramiensis
Pronounced (CHAMP-SO-SORE-US LAR-A-MI-EN-SIS)

Nickname: "Champy"
Discovered By: Jeff Barlett, 1998
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 5 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Fukui Prefectoral Museum, Japan

Champsosaurus was a small to medium crocodile-like animal that lived in the lakes, rivers and streams of the dinosaurs' world. It was a distant cousin of modern day crocodiles, differing in many skeletal features. The most unusual differences of note include a single opening for the nostrils, extremely narrow snout and an enlarged posterior portion of the skull.

Champsosaurus preyed predominantly on fish, based upon the numerous needle-like teeth in its snout. It probably spent most of its time underwater, occasionally coming up for air, with just the tip of its snout poking out. It shared its aquatic domain with other crocodile and alligator ancestors, and inhabited a niche very similar to the modern day gharial of Asia.

Pteranodon sternbergi
Pronounced (TER-AN-O-DON LONG-I-CEPS)

Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1991
Discovery Location: Gove County , Kansas
Diet: Fish (Piscivorous )
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 83 million years
Formation: Niobrara Chalk
Wingspan: 24 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada

Pteranodon was a flying reptile (pterosaur) of the Late Cretaceous Period. Specimens of Pteranodon have been found in many places around the world and they appear to have been a very common site in the skies of the dinosaur's world. Pterosaurs ranged in size from tiny bat-like creatures that could fit in the palm of your hand to massive creatures with wingspans of 30 to 40 feet (the size of a small plane). Pteranodon in particular lived throughout the Northern Hemisphere, patrolling the ancient seaways, oceans, lakes and rivers, feeding predominantly on fish.

The original TPI specimen was one of the most complete and best preserved of its kind. The cast skeleton you see flying above you was enlarged to the size of the largest pteranodon ever found, using 3-D computer modeling, CAT scans and a new technique known as "Rapid Prototyping".
Pteranodon sternbergi

Marine Reptiles

Tylosaurus proriger
Pronounced (TIE-LOW-SOAR-US PRO-RIG-ER)

Nick name: "Bunker Tylosaur"
Discovered By: C. D. Bunker, 1911
Discovery Location: Western Kansas
Location of Original Specimen: University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late-Cretaceous
Age: 83 million years
Formation: Niobrara Chalk
Length: 45ft

This specimen, the largest mosasaur ever found in North America, was collected in 1911. It was placed in the collections of a major university in the US, where it remained in storage until 1997, when it was restored by Triebold Paleontology, Inc.

As the dominant predator of the seas, the Tylosaurus diet consisted of other sea creatures - basically, anything it chose to eat!

Both the Tylosaur and Platecarpus bones have been found with evidence of necrosis, resulting from a long stay at extreme depths. No such necrosis has yet been found in Clidastes bones which suggests that they did no deep diving therefore filling a difference niche.

Clidastes
Pronounced (KLIE-DAS-TEEZ)

Discovered By: "Duffer" Mogok
Discovery Location: Grove County, Kansas
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 83 million years
Formation: Niobrara Chalk
Length: 11ft

Clidastes was the smallest of the mosasaurs, averaging 2-4 meters (7-12 feet) in length, with the largest specimens reaching 6.2 meters (20 feet) long.

Clidastes was an agile and fast swimmer that cruised the surface or shallow waters hunting for fish, flying reptiles and anything that got too close.
It possessed a delicate and slim form with an expansion of the neural spines and chevrons near the tip of the tail and this enabled it to chase down the fastest of prey.

Toxochelys
Pronounced (TOKS-UH-KEE

Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1993
Discovery Location: Lane County, Kansas
Diet: Opportunistic (Omnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 83 million years
Formation: Niobrara Chalk
Length: 2-4ft

Toxochelys was probably the most abundant turtle in the North American inland seaway. It is a close relative of modern sea turtles. Toxochelys had numerous adaptations which allowed it to glide swiftly through the water: a lighter shell, flattened wrist and ankle bones and front limbs built for flapping rather than walking.

Usually found as partial skeletons ranging in size from 2 to 4 feet long, this Toxochelys is a rare exception. The shell is only about 24 cm (9.5 inches) long, and is the smallest skeleton we have found. This baby Toxochelys is very finely detailed and includes the complete hip and limb structures articulated as in life.

Predation of modern baby sea turtles is so high that if a comparable situation existed in Late Cretaceous times, the likelihood of this skeleton being preserved is minuscule. It is a rare specimen indeed!

Platecarpus tympaniticus
Pronounced (PLAT-EE-KAR-PUS TIM-PAN-I-TI-KUS )

Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1986
Discovery Location: Lane County, Kansas
Location of Original Specimen: Gunma Prefectural Museum, Japan
Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 83 million years
Formation: Niobrara Chalk
Length: 15 ft

Platecarpus was a member of the group of marine lizards called mosasaurs (MOE-ZAH-SOARS). Scientists have found Platecarpus specimens with thick fossilized eardrums; this adaptation may have made it easier for the animal to dive in deep water.

Top predators of the world’s oceans for the last 20 million years of the Cretaceous Period, mosasaurs were an offshoot of the monitor lizard group, fully adapted to a marine life. Some of them were giants. Among them, Platecarpus was the most abundant. An interesting anatomical feature of the mosasaurs is the existence of teeth in the palate (pterygoid) of the skull. This helped keep prey from escaping. The more the prey struggled, the faster it was pushed down the throat.

Elasmosaurus platyurus
Pronounced (EE-LAS-MOH-SOAR-US PLAT-E-U-RUS)

Nickname: "Cope's Mistake"
Discovered By: Theophilus Turner, 1867
Discovery Location:Logan County, Kansas
Location of Original Specimen: Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, Philadelphia, Pennslyvania
Diet: Fish (Piscivorous)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 80 million years
Formation: Pierre Shale
Length: 42ft

Discovered in 1867 by a passing pioneer and collected the following year by an army surgeon stationed at Fort Wallace, Kansas, this huge Elasmosaur is famous for the historic role it played in launching the "Fossil Wars" of the late 19th Century.

Dr. Cope’s description of the animal placed the head at the tip of the tail, and it was published before he could stop the presses. Dr. Marsh publicly pointed out this mistake to the great embarrassment of Dr. Cope, and their bitter rivalry began. For over 20 years, their field teams explored the West in an intense competition for the most spectacular new fossils.

Dolichorhynchops bonneri
Pronounced (DOLI-CORE-ING-COPS BONN-ER-I)

Nickname: "Dolly"
Discovery Location: Wyoming & South Dakota
Diet: Marine animals (carnivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 80 Million years old
Formation: Pierre Shale Formation
Length: 15 feet
Location of Original Specimen(s): University of Kansas Natural History Museum

This is a rare short-necked plesiosaur related to the famous Elasmosaurus. This composite skeleton measures about 5 meters long, with a paddle span of over 4 meters. The skull and skeleton are based on nearly complete specimens.

The original of this specimen is in the collection of the University of Kansas Natural History Museum (KUVP 40001, 40002). It was found in the Pierre Shale at the Wyoming-South Dakota border, dating it at approximately 80 million years old.

This marine reptile was a Cretaceous speedster, with large powerful limbs that gave it tremendous maneuverability and speed. It went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous and left no living relatives.

It belongs to the family Polycotylidae, which were some of the last great plesiosaurs in the North American seaway.

Prehistoric Fish

Cretoxyrhina mantelli
Pronounced (KREE-TOX-EE-RYE-NUH)

Discovery Location: Smoky Hill Chalk in Grove County, Kansas

Diet: Animals (carnivore)

Period: Late Cretaceous

Age: 82 Million years old

Formation: Niobrara

Length: 25 feet

There are many shark genera represented in the Cretaceous. The three main types are Cretoxyrhina, Squalicorax, and Ptychodus. Cretoxyrhina, meaning "the jaws of the Cretaceous," was the largest shark in the Late Cretaceous Sea. Some Cretoxyrhina reached a length of twenty five feet, or about the size of a modern Great White shark. This Cretocyrhina is the largest skeleton found to date.

Though sharks were plentiful and were successful marine predators, they did not fossilize well. Unlike bony fish such as Xiphactinus, shark bone is cartilage and requires special conditions to be preserved as a fossil. Most sharks are described by the shape of their teeth and individual sharks' teeth are found in abundance. Cretoxyrhina teeth are long and smooth, and can measure over two inches long.

Cretoxyrhina was undoubtedly a ferocious predator of the Cretaceous seas.

Ichthyodectes
Pronounced (ICH-THE-O-DEK-TEES)

Discovery Location: Western Kansas

Location of Original Specimen: Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center in
Woodland Park, CO

Diet: Smaller Fish (Carnivore)

Period: Late Cretaceous

Age: 83 million years

Formation: Niobrara

Length: 6ft

Ichthyodectes was a large fish that swam in the Western Interior Seaway during the late Cretaceous Period. It looked much like its larger cousin, the Xiphactinus, but was only about six feet in length. Ichthyodectes teeth were of medium size and were about the same size throughout the jaw.

The bone on the top of the head is the supraoccipital and was where major muscles attached. It was not a spike or horn as had been thought by some when first discovered.

Although not much is known about the life of Ichthyodectes, it has been established that it was preyed upon by sharks as evidenced by remains of it in a Squalicorax falcatus specimen.

Pachyrhizodus caninus
Pronounced (PAK-EE-RIZE-OH-DUS KAY-NIE-NUS)

Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1993

Discovery Location: Lane County, Kansas

Location of Original Specimen: North American Museum of Ancient Life, Lehi, Utah

Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)

Period: Late Cretaceous

Age: 84 million years

Formation: Niobrara Chalk

Length: 6ft

A rarely preserved giant predatory fish from North America's Late Cretaceous inland sea.

The original specimen was disarticulated and nearly complete, making it a perfect candidate for three-dimensionalization. Every intricate detail of the gill arches, hyoid apparatus and palatine structures are reproduced in the skull.

While these fish were certainly predators, they were also prey to many larger prehistoric fish. In fact, the first specimen of a Xiphactinus audax with Pachyrhizodus caninus remains inside was recently found by a person from the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Xiphactinus audax
Pronounced (ZIE-FAK-TIN-US AW-DAX)

Discovered By: Mike Everhart, 1996

Discovery Location: Lane County, Kansas

Location of Original Specimen: North American Museum of Ancient Life, Lehi, Utah

Diet: Meat Eater (Carnivore)

Period: Late Cretaceous

Age: 83 million years

Formation: Niobrara Chalk

Length: 17ft

This 17 foot long Xiphactinus is one of the largest specimens ever found, and was nearly 100% complete. One of the most interesting things discovered during the preparation of this animal is that it was scavenged and chewed on by a new genus of shark related to Paracorax, whose teeth were found amongst the tooth marked bones.

Most fossil fish are prepared as a wall mount with the bones still in the rock matrix. TPI was the first and only lab to ever attempt to make a three-dimensional skeletal mount from its very fragile bones.

Paleo Laboratory

The Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center has its very own Paleontology Laboratory! Visitors can peer through the glass and see our paleo technicians and scientists working on the latest discovery - fresh from the field.

The paleo lab consists of various work areas:

- Preparation: This is where we we take the rocks (or jackets) from the field and open them up using various tool to remove the rock and expose the fossils. This is a very slow process and can continue for several months for a single dinosaur.

- Restoration: Once the fossils are removed from the rock, they can be quite fragile to handle. We use very strong glues and fill in some gaps in the fossils where erosional forces opened up cracks.

- Molding and Cast: We make a 2 part mold using silicone, the inside of which is hollow (the hollow part is the shape of a single bone). Then we pour in liquid plastic, let it harden and taadaaa.....we have a perfect copy of the original fossil. The originals go into storage and are catalogued.

- Assembly: All the parts are slowly put together around a steel structure (for strength), and when completed, very little steel will be shown.

- Finishing Touches: Once assembled, the skeleton is painted to look like the original fossils.

Ok, maybe this sounds easy but the entire process could take 6 months to 3 years to complete a skeleton and have it in the museum exhibit hall. Visitors can view each of the processes as we build skeletons for museums around the world!

Children's Learning Center

Ever wanted to feel dinosaur poop? Or how about building a new species of dinosaur out of magnets? These are just a few examples of hands-on learning that children will experience in the Learning Center. It's all part of your admission to fun! We have many activities to keep young minds busy and there is even a dinosaur dig site to keep them physically active.

Theater

We have a 20 seat theater that runs various movies showing geology, paleontology, and the what dinosaurs might have looked like.

Prehistoric Paradise Store

The largest dinosaur store in Colorado is here in Woodland Park. For those shopping online, you can browse our store here.