Andrew Carnegie funded the excavation of the Morrison formation. We found out about the significance of this museum while in Utah: several of the displays are the holtype specimens of their species, including Apatosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Seymouria. Early Permian (299-273 mya). tretrapod.Edaphosaurus. synapsid, early Permian (299-270 mya)Edaphosaurus. synapsid, early Permian (299-270 mya). Three vertebrae have fused to the ilium to form a basic hip.Herrerasaurus. Early dinosaur from the late Triassic (230-225 mya). The hip is already distinctly ‘saurischian,’ meaning that the pubis and ischium are both angled rearward.Herrerasaurus. It was extremely difficult to find an angle that avoided glare from the display-case glass. Here, in silhouette, you can see the well-evolved horizontal bipedalism.Pliosaur. (208-89 mya).Pliosaur. (208-89 mya). Pectoral girdle bones.Crinoid fossil. Quite big.Earlier dinosaurs: Dryosaurus. Ornithischian hipped.Ceratosaurus. Late Jurassic (161-145 mya) saurischianEarlier dino: the Camptosaurus.Camptosaurus was an ornithopod. Late Jurassic (156-147 mya)Main dinosaur hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Called “Dinosaurs in their Time,” the exhibit is designed to give a sense of the whole environment dinos lived in.Stegosaurus, rump view.Original fossils are heavy minerals, so the steel armatures to support them are substantial – and beautiful, in this case.The famous Thag-o-mizer of the Stegosaurus. Thank you again, Gary Larson!Allosaurus head with tiny-tot for scale.Allosaurus hips and rear legs. Well-evolved runners.Apatosaurus on right. This is the holotype fossil. Note the neck vertebrae. Late Jurassic (152-151 mya).Apatosaurus. Very impressive cervical vertebrae.The plesiosaur Dolichorhynchops. Note the iris-bones!Dolichorhynchops. Late Cretaceous (94-71 mya). plesiosaur.Dolichorhynchops. Late Cretaceous (94-71 mya). plesiosaur.Tylosaur. Late Cretaceous (83-66 mya). mosasaur.Tylosaur. Late Cretaceous (83-66 mya). mosasaur.Elasmosaurus. Late Cretaceous (80.5 mya). plesiasaur.Protoceratops. Late Cretaceous (80 mya) ornithischian. Front view.Protoceratops. Late Cretaceous (80 mya). ornithischian.Corythosaurus. Late Cretaceous (80-75 mya). Hadrosaur.Hadrosaurs were later dinosaurs with the stiffening weave of bones along the top of the vertebrae extending back from the hip.Anzu. Late Cretaceous. (75-71 mya). Oviraptor.Pachycephalosaurus. Late Cretaceous (70-66 mya). Ornithischian.Marine dinos! Not quite dinos, actually: Ichthyosaurus.
