A newly discovered dinosaur fossil dating back about 150 million years is being excavated at Dinosaur National Monument in northwestern Colorado, after construction crews uncovered bones beneath a parking lot near the park’s popular Quarry Exhibit Hall.
Park paleontologist ReBecca Hunt-Foster told The Colorado Sun that staff and volunteers removed more than 3,000 pounds of rock and fossil material, revealing the remains of a large, long-necked sauropod believed to be a diplodocus.
So far, the team has recovered about 20 feet of the dinosaur, including tail vertebrae, leg bones, and several toes. Herbivorous sauropods like diplodocus typically grew much longer, and Hunt-Foster says the fossil extends deeper into the hillside.
The discovery marks the first excavation in that area in more than 100 years, with the last one dating back to 1924. Because of winter conditions, crews plan to resume digging this spring.
Some of the newly discovered bones are now on display at the monument’s Quarry Exhibit Hall, while others are being cleaned and studied at the Utah Field House of Natural History in Vernal, Utah.
