Quick Facts

Apatosaurus exelsus
Pronounced (AH-PAT-OH-SORE-US EX-EL-SUS)


 

Nicknames: "CM 563" "UW 15556"
Discovery: Sheep Creek, Wyoming
Diet: Plant eater (Herbivore)
Period: Late Jurassic
Age: 150 million years
Formation: Morrisson
Length: 80 ft
Location of Original Specimen: RMDRC, Woodland Park, CO

This Apatosaurus is one of only 6 on display worldwide. We have borrowed it from the University of Wyoming Geological Museum in order to restore the original bones, update the posture, and improve the look of the missing elements. We will then mold and cast the skeleton, and assemble cast copies. The original will be returned to the University of Wyoming upon completion of the project. The above photograph shows the mounted animal in its old pose, with Dr. Brent Briethaupt providing scale.

Pictures

The neck and small skull. This skeleton was originally displayed with a Camarasaurus skull, back when it was known as Brontosaurus. All the plant material that this animal ate had to pass through that tiny mouth and long neck.


The disassembly process consists of safely removing the bones from the steel support armature. Here, the skull and neck have been removed from display for restoration and molding.


A comparison of caudal (tail) vertebrae before and after preparation. The dull grey paint is removed and the beautiful black bone is revealed before molding.

During restoration, old work is removed, often times revealing markings that have been hidden for at least 50 years. "E163" is on the shaft of a chevron.


The sacrum, weighing over a ton, was too large to remove off of its 15 foot high perch. Here Kerri and Ray are seen coating the bones with silicone rubber.


In the end, we get beautifully finished bones that once cast, are lighter than the originals. This process must be repeated for all 400 bones in the dinosaur's skeleton.

Dr. Bruce Schumacher (on stepladder) and Dr Ken Carpenter photograph one of the original dorsal vertebrae. This is a rare opportunity to evaluate the specimen while disassembled, allowing all elements to be recorded without obstruction. The photographs will be compared with other notes to describe the extent of restoration used on the original bones.

Field Notes

This Apatosaurus was originally excavated in 1901 by the Carnegie Museum, from Pittsburgh, PA. It was returned to Wyoming as part of a fossil trade in the 1950s, being mounted in the Geology Museum around 1960. The Apatosaurus is around 60% complete, with the fossilized bones weighing well over 4 tons. Though not a common dinosaur, Apatosaurus is known from many localities in Colorado, as well as elsewhere in the American west. This specimen, as well as a juvenile discovered in the same quarry, were recently redescribed as a new species, Apatosaurus parvus, however this designation is still contentious.

Lab Notes

Repreparation of the bones is just about finished. Paleontological techniques have advanced tremendously in the past century, and the bones are now much more stable than ever before. We have discovered up to two layers of paint covering the bones, plaster and chicken wire holding broken bones together, and small external pins supporting bones. Use of cyanoacryllate adhesives and modern consolidantes will help make this skeleton look better, and last at least another hundred years.