THE CAMARASAURUS. Discovered at the digsite in 2007, the Camarasaurus "find" was featured on national television and in newspapers across the country. It’s easy to see why – this 95+% complete, well-articulated Jurassic dinosaur specimen was found in the classic “death position”.
The adult Camarasaurus may have died by drowning or natural causes, floating onto a sand bar or sand spit during a high-energy event. As the specimen began to decay and desiccate, the neck and tail constricted, arching towards each other. View full Camarasarus bone map.
No evidence of scavenging. The bones were very well preserved, with no evidence of scavenging. This indicates that the Camarasaurus was not accessible to meat-eating dinosaurs like Allosaurus before the skeleton was buried completely.
(Left) Excavating leg bones - a large femur and a tibia
Other flooding events detached the skull. When the skull detached, perhaps during a flood event, it became lodged along the cervical vertebrae. This protected the skull from being carried away by flowing water or mud.
(Left) Large matrix block holding the skull parts is in the lower right, along the cervical or neck bones.
THE CAMARASAURUS. Discovered at the digsite in 2007, the Camarasaurus "find" was featured on national television and in newspapers across the country. It’s easy to see why – this 95+% complete, well-articulated Jurassic dinosaur specimen was found in the classic “death position”.
.jpg "early view of the Camarasaurus")
.jpg "preparing leg bones for jackets")
.jpg "erry and brother Don protecting cervical vertebrae")
