DinoGuide: Dryosaurus altus

The rare Dryosaurus is the first of its species ever to be fully reconstructed and displayed as a three-dimensional, free-standing mounted skeleton.

Dryosaurus had long, powerful hind legs, indicating that it was a fast runner. Its long tail may have acted as a counterbalance when running. The front of the dinosaur's snout bore a small beak suitable for cropping plants, which were chewed with well-developed "cheek" teeth.

Dryosaurus is known from the western United States and Tanzania (East Africa), providing key evidence for a land connection between these two regions during the latter part of the Jurassic Period.

CARNEGIE SPECIMEN NUMBER:
CM 3392

SCIENTIFIC NAME MEANING:
"Tall oak reptile"

CLASSIFICATION:
Dinosauria : Ornithischia : Ornithopoda : Dryosauridae

LENGTH:
Up to 13 feet (4 meters)

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION & LOCALITY:
Morrison Formation; Dinosaur National Monument, Uintah County, Utah

COLLECTOR:
Earl Douglass and field crew, 1910

TIME PERIOD:
Late Jurassic, 145–150 million years ago

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