Courtesy of the Montana Dinosaur Trail
Albertosaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Tyrannosaur (theropod dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
30 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
2 tons
LIVED IN:
Alberta and Montana
FUN FACT:
Albertosaurus was a member of the tyrannosaur family, the same group of dinosaurs that includes Tyrannosaurus rex. Albertosaurus lived a few million years before T. rex.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Phillips County Museum, Blaine County Museum, Old Trail Museum, H. Earl Clack Museum
Apatosaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Sauropod (long-necked dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
75-90 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
30-70 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Utah
FUN FACT:
Apatosaurus lived during a time of many gigantic sauropod dinosaurs, including Diplodocus, Camarasaurus, and Brachiosaurus. Unlike these other sauropods, Apatosaurus had a relatively wide neck.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Museum of the Rockies, Phillips County Museum
Avaceratops
TYPE (CLASS):
Ceratopsian (horned dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
Not Available
ADULT WEIGHT:
Not Available
LIVED IN:
Montana
FUN FACT:
The bones of Avaceratops are from a juvenile horned dinosaur. The skulls of horned dinosaurs changed shape as these animals grew up, so Avaceratops may have looked very different when it was older.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Upper Musselshell Museum
Brachylophosaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
25-35 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
5-7 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana and Alberta
FUN FACT:
Brachylophosaurus had a short, bony crest
that swept back over its skull. Several nearly complete specimens of Brachylophosaurus have been discovered—some of which are displayed along the Montana Dinosaur Trail.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Phillips County Museum, Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, Museum of the Rockies, Rudyard Depot Museum
Deinonychus
TYPE (CLASS):
Dromaeosaur (“raptor”)
ADULT LENGTH:
10 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
200 pounds
LIVED IN:
Montana, Utah, Oklahoma, and Wyoming
FUN FACT:
The discovery of fossils of Deinonychus in Montana in the 1960s revealed that dinosaurs were much more bird-like and active than previously believed. Deinonychus, Velociraptor, and other dromaeosaurs (sometimes called “raptors”) were closely related to modern birds, and fossils indicate that, like modern birds, they had feathers.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Museum of the Rockies
Edmontosaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
30-50 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
5-9 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Saskatchewan, and Alberta
FUN FACT:
A specimen of Edmontosaurus found in Alberta revealed that this dinosaur had
a fleshy frill on its head, like a rooster’s comb. Edmontosaurus was a large duck- billed dinosaur, but some of the largest individuals discovered were previously thought to represent a distinct giant species named Anatotitan. The large skeleton on display at the Carter County Museum is
an example of an Edmontosaurus that was previously called Anatotitan.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Carter County Museum, Museum of the Rockies, Makoshika State Park, Fort Peck Interpretive Center, Frontier Gateway Museum, Garfield County Museum
Gryposaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
25-30 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
5 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana, Alberta, and Utah
FUN FACT:
Gryposaurus had a strongly arched snout which may have been used for visual display.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Rudyard Depot Museum
Maiasaura
TYPE (CLASS):
Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
25 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
5 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana
FUN FACT:
The discovery of Maiasaura in the late 1970s revealed the first ever evidence for parental care in dinosaurs. In northern Montana, thousands of bones of Maiasaura have been found together.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Museum of the Rockies, Old Trail Museum, Two Medicine Dinosaur Center, Rudyard Depot Museum, H. Earl Clack Museum
Pachycephalosaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Pachycephalosaur (dome-headed dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
10-15 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
1,000 pounds
LIVED IN:
Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota
FUN FACT:
The skull of Pachycephalosaurus underwent radical changes as it grew up. Young animals had a flat head with large spikes, but
as Pachycephalosaurus matured, the spikes reduced in size and it grew a large cranial dome. Pachycephalosaurus is often portrayed as using its dome as a battering ram, but the spikes and dome may have instead been used for visual display.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Museum of the Rockies, Carter County Museum, Garfield County Museum, Frontier Gateway Museum
Seismosarous
TYPE (CLASS):
Sauropod (long-necked dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
110 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
100 tons
LIVED IN:
New Mexico
FUN FACT:
The gigantic dinosaur skeleton that was originally named Seismosaurus was discovered in New Mexico in 1979. This skeleton is
now considered by many paleontologists to represent one of the largest examples of the well-known sauropod Diplodocus, which has been found in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Two Medicine Dinosaur Center
Triceratops
TYPE (CLASS):
Ceratopsian (Horned Dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
25-30 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
5-9 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Saskatchewan
FUN FACT:
Young Triceratops had backwards curving
horns above their eyes and prominent spikes bordering their cranial frill. As Triceratops grew, the horns changed shape and curved forward, and the spikes bordering the frill became flattened to the edge of the frill.
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Museum of the Rockies, Makoshika State Park, Carter County Museum, Garfield County Museum, Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum, Rudyard Depot Museum, Upper Musselshell Museum, Frontier Gateway Museum, Great Plains Dinosaur Museum
Tyrannosaurus
TYPE (CLASS):
Tyrannosaur (theropod dinosaur)
ADULT LENGTH:
40 feet
ADULT WEIGHT:
9-15 tons
LIVED IN:
Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Saskatchewan
FUN FACT:
Tyrannosaurus was one of the largest carnivorous animals to ever roam North America. It had a very powerful bite, and its bite marks have been found on the bones of a number of dinosaur species, including other T. rex!
DISPLAYED ALONG THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL:
Museum of the Rockies, Carter County Museum, Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum, Makoshika State Park, Garfield County Museum, Old Trail Museum, Two Medicine Dinosaur Center, Rudyard Depot Museum, Great Plains Dinosaur Museum