Imagine in Action

Imagine a gigantic hadrosaur in a lush green environment reaching atop a 30 foot cypress tree to eat leaves. In the not-so-far distance a volcano quietly erupts with lava flows slowly creating pools or molten rock and the soil is peppered with iron nodules. Welcome to the daily life of Mary Ann the Hadrosaur.

Mary Ann Hadrosaur was found fully articulated in the Hell Creek formation in Montana. Sixty-eight million years ago she lived in a swamp environment and the expedition found cypress tree petrified wood, dawn redwood pine cones, fern leaves, ginko leaves and assorted other leaves and fly larva jackets near her fossilized skeleton. The Hell Creek formation was part of the inland sea that extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Artic Circle and included the region from the Mississippi River area to more than half of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. the exhibit displays Mary Ann in the environment in which she lived. This is a humid, swamp environment with lush abundant plants for her to eat.

The fossilized skeleton is 90% complete with the outstanding features being the two hoofs and skin impressions on the left foot and the skin impression along the length of the tail.The arms, legs, spine pelvic area and tail were fully encapsulated by iron encrustation, thus preserving the skeleton totally intact. She is thought to be one of the most complete specimens ever found. All of the spines and chevrons associated with the vertebra were intact. Mary Ann Hadrosaur is 30 feet long and 20 feet tall.