July 14, 2006

Carnegie Museum of Natural History puts more dinosaurs on the floor
"The Supporting Cast" includes a never-before-seen dinosaur
and another not on display in almost eight years

Pittsburgh … Carnegie Museum of Natural History is giving visitors a preview of some of the new dinosaurs that will be included in the new Dinosaurs in Their World exhibit, including Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis, a skeleton that has never before been on exhibit. The new dinosaur exhibit, called "The Supporting Cast," is free with museum admission.

"The Supporting Cast," located in the R.P. Simmons Family Gallery, features six dinosaur skeletons or skulls, the touchable thigh bone from Diplodocus carnegii, and a model featuring several of the dinosaurs currently being remounted in New Jersey in their new dramatic poses.

The highlight of the exhibit is Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis (thick head lizard), a new dinosaur to the museum, which will be part of the Cretaceous Hell Creek section of Dinosaurs in Their World. A contemporary of T. rex and Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus is a unique looking dinosaur with bones that looks like spikes protruding out of its skull.

Joining "Pachy" in the exhibit is Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, a dinosaur that hasn't been seen by the general public since it was part of an exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of this discovery of Dippy that took place in the Summer of 1999. Herrerasaurus is from the Triassic period. It is one of the earliest known dinosaurs and will be the first creature that visitors to Dinosaurs in Their World encounter. It has long, powerful hind limbs that it used to run swiftly and upright on its back legs. The narrow skull, flexible neck, and large grasping and ripping claws signify the creature as a voracious predator.

"The Supporting Cast" also includes a fleshed-out version of Coelophysis bauri that used to greet visitors on the 2nd floor balcony in the old Dinosaur Hall; the skulls of Torosaurus, Edmontosaurus, and Camarasaurus; the Diplodocus thigh bon; and a scale model of how the free-standing dinosaurs will be displayed in the new exhibit. "The Supporting Cast" will remain in the R.P. Simmons Family Gallery until later this summer when it will move to the first floor of the museum.

"The Supporting Cast" adds to a number of dinosaurs that remained on exhibit during the construction project. Favorites such as Stegosaurus, the juvenile Camarasaurus (the most complete sauropd dinosaur ever found), the new species of Oviraptosaur, and Dryosaurus that is being prepared (removing the bone from its rocky matrix) in PaleoLab, can also be seen daily.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, can be enjoyed Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays 12 p.m.-5 p.m., and Mondays through August 28. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens, $6 for children ages 3-18 and full-time students with ID and free for members and children under 3. Convenient parking is available at the museum's six-level parking facility, located directly behind the museum. The museum can be accessed from the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Craig Street. For more information, please call (412) 622-3131 or visit www.carnegiemnh.org.

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