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West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES) Museum Receives Donation of Edmontosaurus

Hannah is a species of Edmontosaurus, one of the duckbilled or hadrosaur dinosaurs. Edmontosaurus was up to 42 feet long, about 10 feet tall at the hip, and weighed 3.5 tons. They were easily 16 to 18 feet tall when erect. Hannah was a biped that could also walk on all four legs perhaps to graze on low-lying plants. Edmontosaurus may have lived in large herds for protection from the largest predator of the day, Tyrannosaurus rex. Hannah was one of the last of the dinosaurs and is 67 to 65 million years old. Based on the location and condition of the skeleton, some associated freshwater clams, and plant twig fossils; we believe that Hannah died near a river bank. After the flesh decomposed, the bones were scattered and some even washed away. The bones were later buried in silt by a flood over and over again burying the bones deeper and deeper. Over time the bones fossilized. Millions of years later, 2003 to be exact, some of the bones were exposed by erosion and Hannah was discovered. Eighty percent of the bones in this skeleton are real including the skull, front arm and hand, most of the vertebra, pelvis area, and parts of the tibia. This is the only real dinosaur skeleton on display in West Virginia.

Shown below are photographs that were taken during the recovery and preparation of the Edmontosaurus skeleton. Photographs of the mounted Edmontosaurus skeleton are included as well.

Edmontosaurus discovery site in Bowman County, North Dakota.

Recovery team at the Edmontosaurus discovery site.

Lower jaw of the Edmontosaurus.

Ribs and bones of the Edmontosaurus.

Left tibia of the Edmontosaurus.

WVGES museum curator working on the Edmontosaurus recovery.

Lifting a bone of the Edmontosaurus from the discovery site.

Laboratory preparation of the left arm of the Edmontosaurus skeleton.

Map showing the location of each Edmontosaurus bone as found in the field.

Artist's conception of how the Edmontosaurus skeleton will be mounted.

Edmontosaurus display at the WVGES museum.

Volunteers who helped to make the Edmontosaurus mount possible include (from left to right):
Frank Woodman, Bob Pyle, Junior Grubb, Jim Chiera, and Emmel Garton.

Benefactors, Mike and Mercedes Smith, examine the Edmontosaurus display.

The Edmontosaurus display is certainly a highlight of the Survey museum and draws much attention from visitors.

The Edmontosaurus skull close-up.

The Edmontosaurus teeth close-up.

The Edmontosaurus teeth close-up along with clams found at the discovery site.

Drawing showing a complete Edmontosaurus skeleton.

  Museum Curator: E. Ray Garton: Curator@PrehistoricPlanet.com

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Page last revised: August 2, 2011

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            West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey
  Address:  Mont Chateau Research Center
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            Morgantown, WV  26508-8079
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