Waves of emotion overcame members of an international dinosaur dig team led by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis as it revealed a discovery of a lifetime that was four years in the making. This summer, while digging at the Jurassic Mile dig site in Wyoming, the team uncovered a nearly fully intact Allosaurus snout. The snout is one of the final missing pieces belonging to the mostly complete, articulated Allosaurus being worked in the museum’s Paleo Lab, adding to the wow factor of this already significant specimen. The moment of discovery, the tedious work to excavate the skull without damaging it, and the excitement and relief once it was safely out of the ground, was all caught on camera.
The site manager, Hamilton Timmons, was at the helm of a skid-steer (piece of construction equipment with a front-end loader) holding up a block of rock containing the snout of a Jurassic predator known as an Allosaurus. Because the fossil is more delicate than rock, it separated—allowing the scientists a peek at what was inside. The crew immediately realized if he lowered the scoop, the bones would likely be crushed. The next five minutes were excruciating as they developed a plan to distribute weight equally so there wouldn’t be hundreds of shattered pieces on the ground. “With a sound plan in place, we went for it, flipped the block over and you could see exactly what we had. The release of emotions was something I’ve never felt. Everyone was screaming, I was crying and it was the most exciting thing I’ve ever witnessed—knowing that we found something in better condition than anyone dreamed of,” said Laura Rooney, paleontology curator, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
During the three years of successful excavating that led up to this discovery, paleontologists systematically uncovered different parts of the Allosaurus. The initial discovery took place in 2020 as digging revealed a fully articulated pair of legs and delicate toes belonging to the Allosaurus. This particular dinosaur displays signs of injuries such as a healing femur and infected tibia and fibula and provides valuable insights into the dangers and challenges faced by these creatures during their lifetime.
In the next couple of years, the dig team discovered that almost the entirety of the rest of the theropod’s skeleton was articulated as well (meaning the bones were still connected as they would’ve been when the dinosaur was alive). “Finding an intact dinosaur is a sign its body was buried quickly after it died without being disturbed much by water, decay or scavengers,” said Rooney. The excitement built when the team discovered an unusually large amount of skin impressions that were still preserved. “Other Allosaurus have been found with skin impressions, but this one contains skin from parts of the body yet to be preserved—making it even more fascinating. In addition, the skin is far more abundant than other discoveries of skin based on published material,” said Dr. Joseph Frederikson, lead paleontologist, The Children’s Museum.
All that was left was the snout of the mighty meat-eater that looks similar to a T. rex. This past summer, the block was transported to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis where, bit by bit, the lower jaw, the teeth and top of the skull were excavated from the stone. Now, they have the final piece of the puzzle so they can study the fossils together for a more complete picture of how the dinosaur lived.
As families plan things to do over fall break, they will definitely want to check out the leg block that is on display within the Dinosphere® exhibit at The Children’s Museum as work continues within the R.B. Annis Mission Jurassic Paleo Lab, where visitors can watch. “While any one of these features would make this a cool specimen, it’s the combination of all of them that makes it remarkable,” said Frederikson. These rare treasures provide invaluable insights into Earth's past and encourages families to watch real science in action.
Families are invited to visit the site themselves in the summer of 2025 and join the international team of paleontologists for an amazing adventure digging for dinosaur fossils at the museum’s active dig site in Wyoming. Participants will learn how to search for and identify fossils while working alongside paleontologists during the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Participants must be at least 8 years old (no exceptions). Learn more and sign up on the museum’s website www.childrensmuseum.org/exhibits/dinosphere/dino-digs.
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