Dinosaur Discoveries in Morrison, Colorado.
In and around the tiny foothills town of Morrison, the bones of ancient giants were discovered and exhumed. Starting in the spring of 1877, Arthur Lakes and John Beckwith stumbled upon a treasure trove of Jurassic giants. The first specimens ever discovered of the dinosaurs Apatosaurus ("Brontosaurus") and Stegosaurus as well as the crocodilian Goniopholis were found. Digging was difficult and dangerous. As fossils were found, they were crated and shipped to O. C. Marsh of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut. Exploration for Morrison’s Jurassic dinosaurs ceased in May 1879 as Lakes was ordered by Marsh to relocate to Como Bluff, Wyoming to assist in excavations there.
During the Great Depression, workers uncovered younger traces of Denver's Dinosaurs. Dating back to the dawn of the Late Cretaceous, some 100 million years ago, footprints of early duckbilled dinosaurs and their predators still can be seen on an ancient beach at the shore of an inland seaway. Through the 1990s and beyond, Martin Lockley and other workers intensively studied the tracks and concluded that they were a part of a migratory route.
In 2003, the Morrison Natural History Museum founded the Ajax Discovery Project to continue the work of Lakes and Beckwith. Led by Robert Bakker and Matthew Mossbrucker, the aim of the Project is to develop a better understanding of the Jurassic life and landscape of Morrison, Colorado. So far, crews have discovered two new Jurassic tracksites and gained a greater understanding of the terrain and climate of the area. Footprints of adult and infant dinosaurs, crocodilians, and pterosaurs have been found in the sand of an ancient river. Exploration continues.
Press Releases
Morrison Natural History Museum Discovers Baby Sauropod Tracks
Tracks of a Running Bipedal Baby Brontosaur?
Boulder, CO, USA - Staff at the Morrison Natural History Museum have again discovered infant dinosaur footprints in the foothills west of Denver, near the town of Morrison. Dating from the Late Jurassic, some 148 million years ago, these tracks were made before the Rocky Mountains rose, when Morrison was a broad savanna full of dinosaurs.
The fossil tracks represent infant sauropods, according to discoverer Matthew Mossbrucker, the museum's director. Sauropods are giant, herbivorous long-necked dinosaurs, sometimes known as "brontosaurs." The sauropod Apatosaurus was first discovered in Morrison in 1877. As long as three school buses parked end to end, and weighing as much as eight Asian elephants combined, Apatosaurus is the largest dinosaur found in the Denver metro area.
Information regarding the new tracks will be presented at the 2010 Geologic Society of America Annual Meeting & Exposition in Denver on Monday, 1 November.
In 1877, Arthur Lakes uncovered the very first apatosaurs - three skeletons of the 30-ton giant that was named Apatosaurus ajax. Later discoveries in Wyoming and Utah proved that sauropods were among the dominant giant herbivores in the Late Jurassic.
Lakes was brilliant — he scrutinized the soft grey-green mudrock and the granite-hard sandstone at the Town of Morrison and recovered great blocks of stone filled with bone. But he did miss some things. He didn't realize that the top of the bone layer was churned by dinosaur feet.
Leading paleontologist Dr. Robert T. Bakker of the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences (who also serves as the Morrison Museum's volunteer curator of paleontology) remarks, "The latest discovery by the Morrison Natural History Museum is a tribute to Director Matt Mossbrucker and his crew of sharp-eyed volunteers. Never before has science given us such an intimate glimpse of baby brontosaurs - a window into Jurassic Family Values."
"Three years ago the Morrison Museum crew detected adult and baby Stegosaurus, hinting that the area had been near a stego nesting ground. The new baby sauropod tracks may well be the very smallest, youngest apatosaurs ever discovered, in the form of bone or trackways. Was Morrison an apatosaur nursery? The evidence is fascinating," muses Bakker.
The tracks are ovular and can be nearly eclipsed by a coffee mug, suggesting that the infant sauropods were about the size of a small dog. While one animal left average walking footprints, another infant dinosaur ran parallel to adult tracks.
The running trackway is unusual. "The distance between each step is two-times wider than what we observe in walking tracks indicating the animal was at a low speed run," remarks Mossbrucker. "I am not aware of any running sauropod tracks anywhere." Nor is Bakker.
Mossbrucker jokes that the diminutive dinosaur was "the world's fastest long-neck." How fast is unknown, but Mossbrucker thinks his brood of four kids wouldn't have a problem catching up to "Speedy the Sauropod."
Tail drag troughs are absent on both trackways, which is not surprising, because most sauropod trackways do not show a tail drag mark. This evidence, combined with detailed studies of the tail point, lead researchers to believe that sauropod tails were carried off the ground.
"In the end, we might have a baby sauropod that is running like a Basilisk lizard, a modern lizard that is mostly a quadroped, but when spooked it runs on its hindlegs." Studies are underway to understand the biomechanics of Morrison's sauropods and what a running baby sauropod would look like.
Although collected five years ago, these tracks were a part of a backlog of new discoveries made by Museum staff. The continuous stream of discoveries coming from the Morrison Museum lab demonstrates that an energetic small natural history institution can make unique contributions to science and science education.
The tracks are on permanent display at the Morrison Natural History Museum in the recently redesigned "Fossils of the Foothills" exhibition funded by Scientific and Cultural Facility District (SCFD) grants. The Museum is open daily.
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Morrison Natural History Museum Featured in Smithsonian magazine
For immediate release. Contact Matthew Mossbrucker at 303-697-1783 or info@mnhm.org for more information.
Morrison, CO - May 16, 2008 - Dinosaur researchers Matthew Mossbrucker and Robert Bakker of the Morrison Natural History Museum have been featured in the May 2008 issue of Smithsonian magazine. Since 2002, the duo has discovered a treasure trove of new dinosaur information in the town of Morrison, Colorado. Included in their finds are rare hatchling dinosaur footprints in the foothills town west of Denver.
"It is quite flattering for our crew to be featured in Smithsonian." remarks Museum Director Mossbrucker, who found the baby dinosaur tracks. "This international exposure is wonderful for our museum and the Town of Morrison."
The Town of Morrison is a daytrip destination to Denver Metro area residents boasting an array of restaurants, shops and its flagship family destination: the Morrison Natural History Museum that attracts tens of thousands each year to a Town of less than 450 residents.
The fossils featured in the Smithsonian article are on display at the Morrison Natural History Museum, and are being worked into an exhibit entitled “Birthplace of Jurassic Giants” that is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend of 2009.
To see a sneak preview of the exhibit, visit the Museum’s 6th annual "Dinosaur Days" event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 24 and Sunday May 25. To find out more about Dinosaur Days and special events around local fossil discoveries, visit www.mnhm.org . Regular admission charged.
Abundant in natural history, the tiny foothills town of Morrison has yielded important fossils since 1877. Morrison Natural History Museum researchers began exploring the 150-million-year-old Jurassic rocks of the Morrison area in 2003 with support from Aggregate Industries and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, (SCFD).
"For more than 130 years dinosaur diggers have scoured the foothills west of Denver" says Mossbrucker. "Our crew at the Morrison Natural History Museum is proud to be a part of this tradition."
“We’ll keep exploring and digging so long as kids keep getting excited about dinosaurs.” muses Mossbrucker, who doesn’t expect exploration to cease any time soon.
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Morrison Natural History Museum Discovers Rare Footprints of Infant Dinosaur.
For immediate release. Contact Matthew Mossbrucker at 303-697-1783 or info@mnhm.org for more information.
Discovery first of its kind in the world.
Morrison, CO - May 22, 2007 - Researchers at the Morrison Natural History Museum have discovered two rare hatchling dinosaur footprints in the foothills west of Denver, near the town of Morrison.
The fossil footprints represent the first hatchling Stegosaurus footprints ever found, according to leading paleontologist Dr. Robert T. Bakker, the museum's curator of paleontology. Stegosaurus was first discovered in Morrison in 1877 and is Colorado's state fossil.
"The tracks are so crisply preserved that I can imagine the sound of tiny feet splashing up water when the baby dinosaurs came to this ancient river to drink and cool down," remarks Museum Director Matthew Mossbrucker, who found the tracks. "I still can't get over just how small these footprints are."
The tracks can be eclipsed by a fifty-cent piece, suggesting that hatchling Stegos were about the size of newborn human baby.
The fossils will go on permanent display at the Morrison Natural History Museum Memorial Day weekend as part of its annual "Dinosaur Days" event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 26 through Monday May 28. To find out more about Dinosaur Days and special events around the new footprints, visit www.mnhm.org .
Abundant in natural history, the tiny foothills town of Morrison has yielded important fossils since 1877. Morrison Natural History Museum researchers began exploring the 150-million-year-old Jurassic rocks of the Morrison area in 2003 with support from Aggregate Industries, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, and the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences. Coincidentally, 2007 marks the 130th anniversary of the first fossil finds in the area.
"If these dinosaurs were hatching in our modern world instead of 150 million years ago, they would be within sight of Denver’s skyscrapers, " says Mossbrucker. "These infant dinosaur fossils have raised more questions than they have answered. We'll have to keep digging."
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ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW DINOSAUR DISCOVERY: MAY 22, 2007. FOSSIL TO GO ON DISPLAY MAY 26, 2007. STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS.
New Dinosaur Discoveries
For immediate release. Contact Matthew Mossbrucker at 303-697-1783 or info@mnhm.org for more information.
Morrison, CO – May 19, 2006 – Researchers at the Morrison Natural History Museum have discovered two new dinosaur tracksites west of Denver.
Among the fossils recovered are the first Stegosaurus footprints found in Colorado, according to Scientific Director Dr. Robert T. Bakker.
Adorned with two rows of bony plates along the spine, and tail ending with four spikes, the elephant-sized Stegosaurus was first discovered in
Morrison in 1877 and is Colorado’s State Fossil.
“You don’t have to globetrot to find important new fossils. We look no further than our own backyard,” said Museum Director and dinosaur researcher Matthew Mossbrucker,
“When I look at these tracks I can almost hear the sounds of dinosaur feet grinding into wet river sand.”
The Morrison Natural History Museum is hosting an event to celebrate area dinosaur discoveries. Called “Dinosaur Days,” the event will be held Saturday, May 27and Sunday, May 28 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Special event admission is $1.00 per person.
“These fossils are a rare window into Colorado’s distant past,” remarks Mossbrucker, “and there is certainly much more to be discovered.”
About the Morrison Natural History Museum
The Morrison Natural History Museum's combination of personal, hands-on tours in a relaxed, rustic atmosphere creates a unique experience with every visit.
Featured on display are West Denver's historic and modern dinosaur discoveries, regional geology, living native reptiles, and more.
Exhibits are rotated regularly. Come explore with us.
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