Dinosaurs left their fossilized remains, which help to unlock the fascinating mysteries of their existence.
As wild and scary as it may be to imagine, dinosaurs of all types used to roam throughout the United States, with fossil findings such as the 5-foot-long ornithischian dinosaur on the East Coast, to the huge bones of the extremely long-necked diplodocus in the western U.S. During the time of the dinosaurs, scientists believe that the Western Coastal regions of the United States were covered by ocean water.
Herbivores
Gentle giants come to mind when picturing one of the largest plant-eating dinosaurs, Apatosaurus. Formerly known as the brontosaurus, the Apatosaurus weighed 24 tons. Double that weight and you have the gigantic Brachiosaurus that
scientists estimate to have eaten 450 lbs. of plant material each day. Iguanodon refers to a species of smaller vegetarian dinosaurs with front feet sprouting hoof-like appendages and one pointed horn protruding like a thumb. Fossils of these three dinosaurs have been found in the western United States.
Carnivores
The gangsters of the dinosaur realms were known as Deinonychus and are believed to have hunted in packs. Paleontologist John H. Ostrom theorizes the pack-behavior of the Deinonychus based on finds at quarries in Montana and Wyoming, where fossils of these carnivores surrounded the bones of herbivore dinosaurs. Fossils of the famous flesh-eating tyrant known as Tyrannosaurus Rex have also been found in the Western United States.
Eggs
The first discovery of fossilized dinosaur eggs in the Western Hemisphere occurred in the state of Montana in an area known as the Two Medicine Formation. Jack Horner, the curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies was credited with the amazing find. He identified the eggs as from the duck-billed, plant-eating Maiasaura dinosaur. Further digging nearby at a place called Egg Mountain led to the discovery of different eggs with the embryonic remains of a small theropod dinosaur named Troodon. Theropods were carnivorous little beasts that ran on two hind legs and had tiny forelimbs.
New Dino Discovery
Ghost Ranch, New Mexico is the location where fossil hunters dug up a new dinosaur, which has been named the Daemonosaurus chauliodus, also known as evil spirit buck-toothed reptile. Sketched renderings of the dinosaur's head are reminiscent of a sharp-toothed fish with a reptilian eyeball. The fossilized head and neck bones were found by Hans-Dieter Sues, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. Daemonosaurus is thought to have been a predator, approximately five feet long at maturity.
Tags: United States, been found, have been
