For the last two weeks, I've been giving you updates on the preparation of a big block of rock packed full of hadrosaur bones from New Mexico.All seven bones have now been freed and Western Science Center staff and volunteers are putting the finishing touches on them - removing the last bits of rock, repairing breaks, and reinforcing cracks.
Volunteer Joe Reavis, who worked extremely diligently on the big block for over a month, is now moving on to some smaller jackets from the same quarry, starting with the small jacket pictured here. There are two more jackets twice the size of this one! What parts of this 80-million-year-old herbivorous dinosaur do they contain? I'll continue to post updates as more of this remarkable animal is freed from the mudstone. Post by Curator Dr. Andrew T. McDonald