Othnielia rex was a small ornithopod dinosaur found in the Morrison Formation, a famous geological formation spanning a large chunk of the western United States which is dated to the late Jurassic Period, 157-147 million years ago. It is here… Read More ›
Late Jurassic
Morrolepis
Note: This article was originally published on August 31, 2019. It has since been substantially updated and re-published on September 19, 2024. The Morrison Formation of the western United States is one of the most famous deposits of late Jurassic… Read More ›
Harpactognathus
Harpactognathus was a rhamphorhynchid pterosaur which lived in the Morrison Formation of western North America during the late Jurassic Period. In 1996, the front of a pterosaur’s upper jaw was discovered at Bone Cabin Quarry, a famous fossil site in… Read More ›
Liopleurodon
The middle to late 19th Century can arguably be seen as the glory days of paleontology. While this time frame is often associated with the discovery of dinosaurs and the so-called “Bone Wars” of the American West, discoveries were also… Read More ›
Coelurus
This is a little-known theropod from the Morrison Formation named Coelurus. You don’t see Coelurus very often in Jurassic paleo-art, but I think it’s an interesting creature. It had a much thinner build than its Morrison coelurosaurid counterpart, Ornitholestes, and… Read More ›
Megalneusaurus, Before and After
Back in 2013, I posted a picture of the 25 foot long pliosaur known as Megalneusaurus, which swam in a shallow sea that once covered the central part of North America during the middle and late Jurassic Period. The illustration… Read More ›
Ornitholestes with feathers
Greetings all. Every child with a rough grasp of what life was like in Late Jurassic North America probably knows the Morrison Formation’s main characters. If such a child were to be asked to name the meat-eaters from that formation,… Read More ›
Torvosaurus: The Grizzly Bear of the Jurassic
NOTE: The original article concerning Torvosaurus was published on August 8, 2015. It was completely overhauled and re-published on December 9, 2020, with more information and new artwork. Introduction The Morrison Formation of western North America, dated to the late… Read More ›
Camarasaurus
Camarasaurus, “the chambered lizard”, was a sauropod dinosaur from the Morrison Formation of western North America, dated to the late Jurassic Period about 157 to 147 million years ago. The animal gets its name from the numerous openings within its… Read More ›
Ophthalmosaurus
Ophthalmosaurus was a 20 foot long ichthyosaur which swam in the oceans around Europe during the middle and late Jurassic Period. It is named after its distinctive large eyes. The coloration in the illustration that you see below is… Read More ›