In comparison, Falcarius utahensis didn't look like much a of match for its larger Cretaceous-era dinosaur rival Majungatholus, which stretched to 25 feet long.
Claws at the ready, skeleton models of the two dinosaurs warily eyed each other Wednesday at the Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City. This marks the world debut of Falcarius, a dinosaur from Utah, and the first appearance of Majungatholus in the Western Hemisphere.
In reality, the two dinosaurs never crossed paths. Falcarius roamed Utah in the early Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago, while Majungatholus terrorized Madagascar in the late Cretaceous era, about 70 million years ago.
"It's
Children with the Avenues preschool Child Time get a hands-on experience with dinosaur bones. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune)
fun to bring them together," said Becky Menlove, who is in charge of museum exhibits.
The two creatures do share a bond - Scott Sampson, the museum's curator of paleontology. He helped discover and study both dinosaurs.
Falcarius, which comes out of the southern Utah desert, is believed to be a missing link between earlier meat-eaters and later vegetarian dinosaurs in one family. Researchers, led by state paleontologist James Kirkland, announced the details of the new dinosaur in May.
Majungatholus, which is on extended loan before it moves to its permanent home in Stony Brook, N.Y., is a predatory dinosaur found on Madagascar.
The real fossils of both dinosaurs are still being researched.
Paleoform, a Provo company, created the skeleton cast for Majungatholus. The company ran into problems when the skull they wanted to use was 30 percent bigger than the rest of the body bones they studied, said Tyler Pinegar, who works for the Provo firm.
After making casts of various bones, the dinosaur builders filled the impression with a material called hydrospan. Paleoform workers left the material in water for two weeks, which expanded the pieces by 30 percent.
Other bones had to be carved out of a hard foam using bones from related dinosaurs as models, Pinegar said.
Gaston, Studio, of Grand Junction, Colo., designed the Falcarius skeleton cast.
On display near the 12-foot-long Falcarius is a small sculpture of the creature, which features muscles and skin. Salt Lake City sculptor/illustrator John Moore created the lifelike rendition.
After seeing the skeleton, he cast a glance back at his creation with a critical artist's eye.
"I wish at the time I'd had the skeleton," Moore said. "It would look different."
When he began the project, he only had pictures of a few bones upon which to base his sculpture. Moore said the neck should be longer and the pelvis should be a different shape.
"Nobody can exactly say it's wrong," Moore said, "because no one has ever seen it."
glavine@sltrib.com
Heading into dinosaur territory
l What: Two new cast skeletons of dinosaurs, Falcarius utahensis and Majungatholus, are on display at the Utah Museum of Natural History.
l Where: University of Utah campus, 1390 E. Presidents Circle.
l When: Monday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
l More information: Admission is $6.50 for adults; $3.50 for seniors and kids 3-12, and free for children under 3, museum members and those affiliated with the University of Utah.
More information is available on the Web at http://www.umnh.utah.edu or call 801-581-6927.
By Greg Lavine
The Salt Lake Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment