Dinosaurs of D.C. and Maryland
Dr. Pete Kranz, Paleontologist and Maryland dinosaur fossil expert, give a great talk for the Fossil Club at the Natural History Society of Maryland - about what's been found in our area within Early Cretaceous period sediments.
Before the talk began, he passed around several dinosaur and plant fossils.
Before the talk began, he passed around several dinosaur and plant fossils.
He started off with Maryland's state dinosaur, Astrodon johnstoni, which is sauropod - (think of the "Veggesaur" from the first Jurassic Park movie, which is a Brachiosaur). In fact, Maryland's Astrodon johnstoni looked very much like that, only a bit smaller.
He also showed a knee-joint, along with an artist's conception of what a herd might have looked like, rumbling through Laurel MD, along what now is the U.S. Route-1 corridor (where Astrodon remains were first found).
He also showed a knee-joint, along with an artist's conception of what a herd might have looked like, rumbling through Laurel MD, along what now is the U.S. Route-1 corridor (where Astrodon remains were first found).
We also saw things like the tail vertebrate of a raptor-type dinosaur, about the size as the ones seen in Jurassic Park - (except real Velociraptors weren't nearly that big) - along with an image comparison to a 6' tall human. Some estimate that this beastie may have been the largest raptor-type dinosaur that ever existed
There was also this unique tooth and depiction of Neoceratopsia, which was probably an ancestor to the gigantic Triceratops dinosaurs that lived during the late Cretaceous. http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~gdouglas/neoceratopsian/index.html
We were presented with the reconstructed foot of a turtle, one of several different species found.
http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~gdouglas/articles/potomactur.html |
There was also a skull of the turtle Arundelemys dardeni, a relatively recent find.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26%5B300%3AANTFTA%5D2.0.CO%3B2 |
The climax was the depiction of what's being called by the informal name, "Capitalsaurus" - a monstrous predator that's something like the cross between an Allosaur and a T-Rex, and in fact may have been ancestor to T-Rex. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/capitalsaurus-a-dc-dinosaur-90370223/ |
Dinosaur Jaws
Fossil Digs are held first and third Saturdays at Dinosaur Park in Laurel, MD
Supervised Fossil Dig Wrapping a leg bone
Supervised Fossil Dig Wrapping a leg bone
For More Information, check out:
Capitalsaurus
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/capitalsaurus-a-dc-dinosaur-90370223/
Dinosaurs In Our Backyard
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/backyard-dinosaurs/cast.cfm?cas..
Dinosaurs of the District of Columbia
http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~gdouglas/articles/Kranz6.pdf
Faunal composition and paleoenvironment of the Arundel Clay (Potomac Formation; Early Cretaceous), Maryland, USA
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2018/2290-arundel-fauna-of-maryland-usa