Pronounced (ED-MON-TO-SORE-US AN-NECK-TENS)
Discovered By: Mike Triebold, 1995
Discovery Location: Harding County, South Dakota
Diet: Plant Eater (Herbivore)
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 66 million years
Formation: Hell Creek
Length: 24 ft
Location of Original Specimen: Fukui Prefectoral Museum, Japan
Edmontosaurus was a plant eating, 20 to 35 foot long dinosaur, commonly called a “duck bill”, or a “hadrosaur”. Duckbills traveled in large herds (based on trackways, and mass kill sites), to protect themselves from predators. This particular Edmontosaurus displays evidence of having fought a battle with a terrible predator.
Look closely at its lower jaw. There are tooth marks, indicating that it had been attacked. A close examination of those marks reveals that the bone tissue is frothy and has partially healed. This means that this creature survived the initial attack, living for several days, weeks or possibly years before dying of infection or another cause.
Also on display is a juvenile Edmontosaurus, added to the dinosaur hall in 2007. This specimen measures approx 15 feet long and sits below and to the right of the adult.