Dinosaurs of Utah

Paleontology at UMNH

Utah plays a vibrant role in the dinosaur and other paleontological discoveries.  The Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, discovered in Emery County, Utah in the early 20th Century, is the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found.  Paleontologists from the University of Utah and, eventually, the Utah Museum of Natural History have excavated over 15,000 specimens from the Quarry.  Dinosaur skeletons reproduced from Cleveland-Lloyd specimens are on exhibit in more than 65 museums around the world.

But Cleveland Lloyd was just the beginning.  Utah continues to be one of the key locations in the discovery of dinosaurs fossils, specimens and other paleontological research. 

Public Lecture by Scott D. Sampson

Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent
Thursday, November 12, 2009 -- 7:00 p.m.
Judge Memorial High School Auditorium, Salt Lake City

Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent Lecture Information

Hear first-hand about the new dinosaur discoveries with UMNH research curator
Scott Sampson. As a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, Scott has played a
vital role in discovering new dinosaur species, particularly in Southeastern Utah.  His research has raised many questions about the adorned and bizarre dinosaurs of the
Late Cretaceous period.  At this lecture, Scott will discuss the research and contro-
versies raised by his discoveries in his compelling style that will appeal to all ages.

The Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent lecture will be held at Judge Memorial High School Auditorium and be followed by a booksigning of Scott's new book, Dinosaur Odyssey.

Late Jurassic Dinosaurs in Utah

150 to 140 million years ago

The UMNH paleontology collection is dominated by classic dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic, including, but not limited to, fossils of Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Camarasaurus.

Allosaurus fragilis  A large theropod dinosaur, whose name is derived from the Greek meaning "different lizard".  Allosaurus was a large bipedal predator with a large skull, equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. It averaged 28 feet in length. Compared to its large and powerful hindlimbs, Allosaurus's three-fingered forelimbs were small, and its body was balanced by a long, heavy tail.

For over half of the 20th century, this species was known as Antrodemus, but study of discoveries from the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry brought the name Allosaurus back to prominence, and established it as one of the best-known dinosaurs.   The UMNH holds the world's largest collection of Allosaurus fragilis.

Allosaurus fragilis is the state fossil of Utah.

Ceratosaurus  A large predatory dinosaur, whose name means "horned lizard", in reference to the horn on its nose. It is characterized by large jaws with blade-like teeth, a large, blade-like horn on the snout and a pair of hornlets over the eyes. The forelimbs were powerful but very short. The bones of the sacrum were fused and the pelvic bones were fused together, similar to modern birds. A row of small osteoderms -- plates or scales -- was present down the middle of the back.

Stegosaurus A genus of armored dinosaur, whose name means "roof lizard", due the array of plates and spikes along its back.  A large, heavily built, herbivorous quadruped, Stegosaurus had a distinctive and unusual posture, with a heavily arched back, short forelimbs, head held low to the ground and a stiffened tail held high in the air. The plates and spikes is the subject of much speculation and research.  Were they used for defense, for heat control, or for mate selection?

Camarasaurus  A quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur, whose name means "chambered lizard", referring to the holes in its vertebrae. It was the most common of the giant sauropods to be found in North America.  The adult Camarasaurus grew to about 60 feet in length and weighed over 19 tons! A Camarasaurus pelvis recovered from Dinosaur National Monument in Utah shows gouging attributed to Allosaurus.

The arched skull of Camarasaurus was remarkably square and the blunt snout had many fenestrae, though it was sturdy and is frequently recovered in good condition by paleontologists. The 7.5 inch teeth were shaped like chisels and arranged evenly along the jaw. The strength of the teeth indicates that Camarasaurus probably ate coarse plant material.

Cretaceous Dinosaurs of Utah

145 to 65 million years ago

Recent expeditions in the outcrops of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Manti-LaSal National Forest have resulted in the addition of significant new dinosaur specimens to the UMNH collections, including Utah's first Tyrannosaurus rex, several Ceratopsian dinosaurs, and hadrosaur remains. Together, these specimens are aiding research on this important, but poorly known time interval in our planet's history.

Ceratopsian The "horned faces" is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs which thrived in what are now North America and Asia. Early members were small and bipedal. But later members became very large quadrupeds and developed elaborate facial horns and a neck frill. While the frill might have served to protect the vulnerable neck from predators, it may also have been used for display, thermoregulation, the attachment of large neck and chewing muscles or some combination of the above. Ceratopsians ranged in size from three 3 feet to over 30 feet, and from 50 to 12,000 pounds!

Hadrosaur  These "duck billed" dinosaurs were common herbivores in the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia, Europe and North America. The hadrosaurs are known as the duck-billed dinosaurs due to the similarity of their head to that of modern ducks. In some cases, the whole front of the skull was flat and broadened out to form a beak, ideal for clipping leaves and twigs. However, the back of the mouth contained literally thousands of teeth suitable for grinding food before it was swallowed. This has been hypothesized to have been a crucial factor in the success of this group in the Cretaceous, compared to other dinosaurs which were still largely dependent on gastroliths for grinding their food.

Falcarius utahensis (pictured above)  A therizinosaurian dinosaur genus found for the first time in Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation in 2005. Its name is derived from the Latin word for "sickle", which scientists have used to describe its unwieldy clawed hands. From examining fossilized bones from several individual animals, scientists describe the dinosaurs as feathered, rotund, sickle-clawed creatures. Falcarius utahensis averaged about 12 feet in length and just over 4 feet tall. With its long neck, it could apparently reach about 5 feet off the ground to munch leaves or fruit. Its leaf-shaped teeth and 4 to 5-inch claws indicate that it consumed both meat, quite probably small animals such as lizards, and plant material.

More About Paleontology at UMNH

UMNH Vertebrate Paleontology Department Overview

UMNH Paleontology Fieldwork

UMNH Paleontology Department Staff Contact

UMNH Paleontology Student and Volunteer Opportunities