Idaho Dinosaurs: They Dug Their Own Graves

Geologists of Jackson Hole Lecture by L.J. Krumenacker
Dr. L. J. Krumenacker, adjunct professor at Idaho State University and the College of Eastern Idaho, presents a summary of current knowledge on the dinosaurs and associated fossils found in Idaho; these discoveries show the presence of unique animals in a poorly known time in dinosaur evolution in North America.
One-hundred-million-year-old rocks in eastern Idaho preserve remnants of a unique ecosystem dominated by the small burrowing dinosaur Oryctodromeus cubicularis, which raised its young and had family groups that lived within burrows. Giant, nesting oviraptorosaurs are represented by eggshell accumulations and rare giant eggs. Other dinosaurs are known from rare skeletons, isolated bones, and teeth. Some of the most intriguing remains are isolated teeth and partial bones to a pony-sized ancestor of the ever-popular Tyrannosaurus rex. The relative abundance of Oryctodromeus skeletons and the rarity of other dinosaur remains are a problem unique in dinosaur paleontology with distinct possible solutions.
The above fossil assemblage comes solely from sediments known as the Wayan Formation. However, numerous other hopeful dinosaur-bearing rock formations remain largely unexplored and are part of future research plans by Dr. Krumenacker and collaborators. Hints of potential fossil resources in these rocks from the age of dinosaurs in Idaho suggest we are only beginning to understand and uncover the age of dinosaurs as recorded in Idaho.

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