Utah's Most Famous Dinosaurs

Dinosaur National Monument, Cleveland Lloyd Quarry, the North American Museum of Ancient Life and many other sites make Utah a key destination for people interested in seeing fossils and learning about dinosaurs.

Over the years, Utah has yielded some unique fossils, including a number that have resulted the in discovery of entirely new species. This KSL TV report talks about some of our most famous prehistoric residents. Below is the headline and the excerpts.

5 dinosaurs from Utah and why they are amazing

“The discovery of the Apatosaurus put Utah on the map. It led to Utah's being the center of dinosaurs both in terms of science and tourism," according to Brooks B. Britt, Associate Professor and Paleontologist at Brigham Young University.

Allosaurus... Parts of at least 42 individuals were found at the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry where more than 12,000 bones have been discovered. The collection at the museum by the same name as the quarry has been replicated and shipped to other museums all over the world.

Utahraptor... This particular species is extremely rare, with only a few known examples, all of them from western North America. The Utahraptor is a predator that walks on two legs and scientists have found strong evidence that it possessed feathers.

Abydosaurus... The bones that have been discovered so far include 4 partial skulls and two 2 complete skulls. Such complete examples of skulls are extraordinarily rare.

Kosmoceratops, is a horned dinosaur, discovered in 2010, in Utah... It has one of the most ornate skulls with 15 horns or horn-like structures, more than any other ceratops-like dinosaur.

“One of the most interesting and active excavation sites in Utah is at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument," said Randall B. Irmis, Assistant Professor of Geology & Geophysics at the University of Utah. "We’re making new discoveries every year and and we’re uncovering a lost ecosystem that no one really knew about before.”

The KSL report includes video that is worth watching. See it here.