9.5" Hadrosaur (Hypacrosaur) Caudal Vertebra with Stand -Montana

This is a beautifully preserved, 9.5" tall Hadrosaur (Hypacrosaurus sp.) caudal (tail) vertebra from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. It was collected this last spring and has been nicely prepared from the hard rock surrounding it.

This vertebra is unique in that most of the spinous process remained in good enough condition to be recovered for repair. There is a repaired crack through the process, the distal end of the process wasn't recovered and there is gap fill restoration at the base of the process which was required to attach it back to the vertebra. For the most part, the neural arch remained intact and wasn't separated from the centrum like most vertebra from this location. The left (anterior-most) articular facet has been completely restored. There is a repaired crack along the ventral side of the vertebra centrum, along with some glue stabilization.

Comes with the pictured custom metal display stand.

Hypacrosaurus is a very large, Lambeosaurini Hadrsosaur that would have been almost as large as the Tyrannosaurs that it lived alongside. Like Corythosaurus, it had a tall, hollow, rounded crest, although not as large and straight. It is known from the remains of two species that spanned 75 to 67 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, and Montana, United States, and is the latest hollow-crested duckbill known from good remains in North America. It is estimated to have been around 9.1 meters (30 feet) long and to have weighed up to 4-5 tons.

 Hypacrosaurus drawing by Wikipedia user debivort. Creative Commons License
Hypacrosaurus drawing by Wikipedia user debivort. Creative Commons License

The Two Medicine Formation is a geographical formation in Central Montana and Southern Alberta, Canada. The formation is predominantly sandstone laid down by rivers and deltas during the Campanian Age of the Cretaceous, about 80-75 million years ago. Approximately two thousand feet thick on the western edge, it lies on top of the Virgelle Sandstone formation and under the Bearpaw Shale. It is located between the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and the Sweetgrass Arch, a tectonic fold feature 40-90 miles east of the Front Range.

The Two Medicine is the same age as the Judith River Formation found further east. It was laid down further inland from the Western Interior Seaway, while the Judith River Formation was deposited along the coast. The Two Medicine contains much of the same dinosaur fauna, but fewer reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic fossils.

A view of the Two Medicine Formation quarry operated by Northwest Montana Fossils, where much of our Two Medicine dinosaur material has been found.
A view of the Two Medicine Formation quarry operated by Northwest Montana Fossils, where much of our Two Medicine dinosaur material has been found.

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Hypacrosaurus sp.
LOCATION
Pondera County, Montana
FORMATION
Two Medicine Formation
SIZE
9.5 x 7.6", 9.8" tall on stand
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#145185
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