RARE JURASSIC DINOSAUR SKELETON
Dryosaurus altus
Jurassic
East Camarasaurus Quarry, Albany County, Wyoming
The D. altus is an extremely rare Jurassic dinosaur. There are only two mounted skeletons of this species: one is on display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pennsylvania, USA; the second is offered in these rooms and is the finer of the two without exception.
Collected in 1993 and mounted on a discrete yet sturdy armature, the body is posed in a full-flight run, with the bird-like skull turned inquisitively towards the observer. The bones display a lovely soft creamy coloring, with neat restoration where required. The pose is appropriate - the herbivorous dryosaurus relied on speed to escape predators, using its long slender legs and heavy, counterbalancing tail.
The comparatively large size of the eye sockets suggests keen eyesight, but even from remains unearthed in the western United States and in Tanzania since the late nineteenth century, there is still not a great deal else known about the animal's biology and habits but some evidence suggests they were herd animals, being able to migrate long distances.
Dr Rod Scheetz of Brigham Young University (an authority on the Hipsilophodont family of which the dryosaurus is a member) has described this very mounting as "the best specimen I have ever seen". It is a world-class fossil, of any species, and measures 127 1/2 inches from nose to tail, standing 36 inches high overall from a heavy rough stone slab base.