Happy #FossilFriday! This is the preserved scale pattern (MOR 790) from a long-necked #sauropod #dinosaur found in the #Jurassic #Morrison Formation of #Montana. Fossils like this one can provide a clearer view of what these animals looked like when they were alive.

Happy #FossilFriday! #Fossils can come in a variety of colors! These are all #tyrannosaur #teeth from the Upper #Cretaceous #TwoMedicineFormation in #Montana. The different colors reflect conditions and processes that occurred after burial.

Happy #FossilFriday! These are tail vertebrae of the duck-billed #dinosaur #Hypacrosaurus (#MOR549). The arrows highlight #pathologies (injuries). This week, a new study by Bertozzo et al., suggests these pathologies may be caused by mating, indicating this dinosaur is a female.

Happy #FossilFriday! The teeth of #Tyrannosaurus were a scary sight for all the #dinosaurs in the #Cretaceous #HellCreek ecosystem. Tyrannosaurus bite marks have been found on the bones of #Triceratops, #Edmontosaurus, and even other Tyrannosaurus!

This summer, Museum of the Rockies delivered a 3D-printed skull of MOR 2919 (Probrachylophosaurus bergei holotype) to the Depot Museum in Rudyard. It is now on display along the Montana Dinosaur Trail. Dr. John Scannella also presented at Fossil Fun Fest. #Paleontology #Dinosaurs #SummerTales

This week’s #VirtualFossilFriday features a 2025 Fieldwork Update with: 🔸 Lee Hall – Paleontology Lab and Field Manager 🔸 Dr. John Scannella – John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology 🗓️ Fri, Oct 24 | 9–10 a.m. MST 💻 Zoom: bit.ly/3L7BsFu #Fieldwork #MuseumOfTheRockies

Happy #FossilFriday! This is one of the first complete #dinosaur #eggs discovered in North America! It is one of many eggs found in the #Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of #Montana at #EggMountain, a site that preserves dinosaur eggs and bones, ancient lizards, mammals, & more.

Happy #FossilFriday! Meet Brontotholus harmoni (MOR 480), a new pachycephalosaurid from the Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana. Named after former MOR Chief Preparator Bob Harmon. Bronotoholus was named this week in a @ZoolJLinnSoc paper by MSU alumnus @doublebeam and colleagues.

For Spooky Season, here's us raising the dead mosasaur Plioplatecarpus peckensis for the Cretaceous Crossroads exhibit at @museumoftherockies.bsky.social over the past 2 years. Lots of work goes into getting these specimens ready for their big public moments rmdrc.blogspot.com/2025/10/plio...

"Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall" opens today at MOR. Just 36 hours before her passing, she recorded a message for our members. Join us in honoring her extraordinary life. Our thanks to the Jane Goodall Institute and National Geographic. Click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFuM...

(Part 1) This past weekend, Museum of the Rockies staff led the first ever Browning High School Egg Mountain Eggspedition program at the Beatrice R. Taylor Paleontology Research Area near Choteau, Montana. With excitement and curiosity, students began an unforgettable journey.

Happy #FossilFriday! Meet #Thikarisuchus xenodentes (#MOR11969)! The skull of this small #Cretaceous #crocodyliform fits in the palm of your hand. Thikarisuchus was named this week in a Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology paper by #MontanaStateUniversity alumnus Harrison Allen and colleagues.

Happy #FossilFriday! Dive into the Cretaceous depths with Plioplatecarpus peckensis (MOR 1082)! This small (~3m long) mosasaur pursued prey in the Western Interior Seaway while dinosaurs roamed the land.

Happy #FossilFriday! Hundreds of fossils of the horned #dinosaur #Triceratops have been discovered in the #Cretaceous #HellCreekFormation in #Montana. In juveniles like #MOR1199, the #horns above the eyes curve backwards. As Triceratops grew up, the horns curved forward.

Happy #FossilFriday! Life in the #Cretaceous could be dangerous for smaller #dinosaurs. This is #Orodromeus, whose name means “mountain runner.” Fossils of this small dinosaur were first discovered at Egg Mountain in the Two Medicine Formation of #Montana.

🎶 Something’s in the air at Museum of the Rockies! Three pterosaurs just landed in our Siebel Dinosaur Complex, spreading their wings high above the galleries. Don’t forget to look up on your next visit! 🦖✨ #MuseumOfTheRockies #PterosaurGroove #DinoVibes

Happy #FossilFriday! #Sturgeons evolved in the #Cretaceous. This remarkably preserved Priscosturion(#MOR1184) is a fossil sturgeon discovered in the body cavity of a Brachylophosaurus. See #Priscosturion, #Brachylophosaurus, and more in the #CretaceousCrossroads exhibit at MOR.

#FossilFriday The little Cretaceous thescelosaurid Orodromeus at the @museumoftherockies.bsky.social

Happy #FossilFriday! Ceratopsians (horned dinosaurs) came in a variety of shapes and sizes. This is Cerasinops hodgskissi (MOR 300), a bipedal ceratopsian from the Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana.

Happy #FossilFriday! Pogonodon was a “false saber-tooth” from the extinct family Nimravidae. This ancient carnivore roamed the region that is now Montana in the Oligocene Epoch, about 20 million years before true cats evolved.

Happy #FossilFriday! #Mosasaurs were a group of predatory marine reptiles that lived during the Late #Cretaceous period. They had long tails for moving through the water, and flippers for steering. The #CretaceousCrossroads exhibit at MOR has two skeletal mounts of mosasaurs.

Happy #FossilFriday! Finding fossil tracks in the field can be a challenge without good lighting. MOR 1082, the fossil tracks of a Cretaceous horseshoe crab, stand out when the light is right.

Happy #FossilFriday! This is Maiasaura peeblesorum, the state fossil of Montana. Studies of this duck-billed dinosaur provided the first evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their babies. Come see Maiasaura bones, eggs, babies and more in Cretaceous Crossroads! Mural by artist Julius Csotonyi

Happy #FossilFriday! Daspletosaurus horneri, an earlier relative of T.rex, is one of many dinosaurs and other ancient creatures on display in the new Cretaceous Crossroads exhibit at MOR!

Happy #FossilFriday! While the Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation is known for its dinosaur fossils, other organisms including lizards, turtles, fish and crocodilians are also found in its ecosystem. Come learn more about the Two Medicine Formation at the Cretaceous Crossroads exhibit opening!

Happy #FossilFriday! This is the nearly complete foot of an Ornithomimosaur MOR 1105 from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of Garfield County, Montana. The long legs of these ostrich-like theropod dinosaurs suggest they were adapted for speed.

Happy #FossilFriday! Teleoceras (MOR 2034) is an early rhino from the Miocene (~8 mya). It had a barrel-like build with short legs, similar to a modern hippopotamus. It’s high-crowned molars suggest it primarily consumed low-lying plants.

Happy #FossilFriday! This Tenontosaurus skull (MOR 682) was recently taken off exhibit for study by visiting researchers to MOR. Before going back on display, fossil preparators will thoroughly evaluate the condition of and conserve the specimen.

MSU alumna Lauren Wilson leads a study uncovering evidence that birds nested in the Cretaceous Arctic alongside non-avian dinosaurs! 🦖🐦Several MSU alumni were involved in this research project, including MOR Research Associate Dr. Chris Organ. Read more: www.montana.edu/news/24599/r...

Happy #FossilFriday! #Plesiosaurs, unlike many other #marinereptiles, swam through the water using 4 large flippers. This required massive muscles, and big shoulder and hip bones for those muscles. These bones are visible on #MOR995, the partial skeleton of a plesiosaur.

🎸 Big dinos, bigger stars! 🦖 We had a blast giving Brad Paisley a behind-the-scenes paleontology tour at #MuseumoftheRockies! 🦴💥 Turns out, Brad’s a fossil fan too and excels at ID’ing fossils! Plan your own prehistoric adventure today. #BradPaisley #Paleontology

Happy #FossilFriday! #Fossils are fragile and need special care if they go on display. This week, to prepare for #CretaceousCrossroads, Fossil Preparator Laurie (left) and Planetarium and Exhibits Specialist Ryanne (right) are cavity mounting a #crocodile skull and #turtle shell.

Happy #FossilFriday! #Troodon was one of the first named #dinosaurs from North America. This week MSU Paleontologist David Varricchio & team unveiled new Troodon #fossils, including this upper jaw. See a 3D printed Troodon in the new #CretaceousCrossroads exhibit @ MOR in July!

Happy #FossilFriday! This is part of the tail of an #Edmontosaurus (#MOR007) from the Upper #Cretaceous #HellCreekFormation of #Montana. Study of this fossil revealed that show duck billed #dinosaur had a segmented frill along the top of its body.

Happy #FossilFriday! This is a feather (MOR 10877) discovered in the 32-million-year-old paper shales near Helena, Montana. Feathered dinosaurs have existed for over 150 million years and still soar overhead today.

Happy #FossilFriday! Deinonychus is leaping into the Hall of Giants at MOR! Discovery of this dromaeosaur (raptor) in the 1960s showed dinosaurs were more dynamic and bird-like than previously thought, igniting the Dinosaur Renaissance.

Happy #FossilFriday! In the time of #Trex, the Cretaceous rivers were filled with invertebrates like this Proparreysia (MOR IV 3423) from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. The shell of this bivalve has prominent bumps and ridges that helped it avoid sinking in the mud.

Happy #FossilFriday! MOR 740 preserves the skull of a Champsosaur, the long snout was used to capture freshwater prey. This group of crocodile-like reptiles and survived the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, only to go extinct at the end of the Paleocene, ~55mya.

Big news from Museum of the Rockies! 🦖 Dr. John Scannella, our John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology, is a co-author on a newly published research paper. Science is always evolving, and so is our understanding of the past! 🔎 Read the research: cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... #Paleontology #MOR

#dinosaursandmor @museumoftherockies.bsky.social Dr. Mark Goodwin kicks off post-lunch presentation w/discussion on #Pachycephalosaurus ontogeny & behavior! To butt or not to butt heads....

#DinosaursandMOR Dr. Christian Sidor introducing #paleontology #fieldwork in Antarctica! @museumoftherockies.bsky.social

#DinosaursandMOR Dr. Kimi Chapelle (Stonybrook), starting the late morning sessions! Late #Triassic Early #Jurassic start to sauropodomorphs! Also some of the oldest known eggs/babies! #Massospondylus

Happy #FossilFriday! Here’s a sneak peek of a new 3D printed #skeleton that will be unveiled at the member’s event at #MOR tonight as we kick off the 4th annual #DinosaursandMOR festival. Can you guess who these #teeth belong to?

👋 Meet the Speaker: Dinosaurs and MOR! 🐱 Dr. Ashley Reynolds dives into Growing Up Sabre-toothed, revealing how these Ice Age icons developed their massive fangs and survival skills. #DinosaursAndMOR #Sabertooth #IceAgePredators #Paleontology

👋 Meet the Speakers: Dinosaurs and MOR! 🚗 Dr. Josh Bonde takes us Paleo-tripping across Nevada, exploring fossils from the Silver State. 🦖 Dr. Holly Woodward unpacks Theropod Growth, revealing how Allosaurus & Tyrannosaurus grew in cycles to adapt. #DinosaursAndMOR #Paleontology #DinosaurGrowth

🎬 Meet the Panelists: Dinosaurs and MOR! Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs to life—but did it get the science right? 🦖 Our expert panel dives into Claws, Chaos, and Cinema! 🎤 Ashley Hall, Kathryn Abbott, Kallie Moore, Ted Rechlin, & moderator David Strassman. #DinosaursAndMOR #ScienceVsFiction

👋 Meet the Speakers: Dinosaurs and MOR! 🌊 Eric Metz dives into Snake Whales & Lizard Eels—strange marine reptiles that swam prehistoric seas. 🦴 Dr. Sarah Keenan reveals Taphonomic Mysteries—how fossils form and why some vanish from history. #DinosaursAndMOR #Paleontology #FossilPreservation

Meet the Speakers: #DinosaursAndMOR! Dr. Jordan Mallon highlights The Sternberg Family’s Fossil Hunts, revealing their impact on dinosaur discoveries. Dr. James Napoli dives into The Paleospecies Problem—are we misidentifying dinosaurs or oversimplifying their diversity? #Paleontology #FossilMystery

👋 Meet the Speakers: #DinosaursAndMOR! 🌍Dr. Randy Irmis reveals Gondwana’s ancient landscapes, showing how Earth’s changing environment set the stage for dinosaurs. 🧬Dr. Chris Organ deciphers Cretaceous Chromosomes, unlocking the genetics of dinosaur reproduction. #Paleontology #DinosaurEvolution

👋 Meet the Speakers: #DinosaursAndMOR 🏞️ Greg Liggett (BLM) explores federal lands & paleontology—how public lands preserve prehistoric history. 🧬 Dr. Paige Madison dives into The Real Middle Earth, revealing how fossil “hobbits” reshaped our human story. #Paleontology #HumanOrigins