Matthew Carrano, the curator of dinosauria at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, stands with the recently arrived Pachycephalosaurus skull on Monday. Matthew Carrano gently ran his finger along the toothy upper jaw of the Smithsonian Institution’s newest arrival, which was still sitting in its padded shipping crate. Thedinosaur curator looked down in awe at the hulking 67-million-year-old fossil with jumbo eye sockets and knobby protrusionswhich he hopes will change humanity’s understanding of this baffling, lost creature.
which he hopes will change humanity’s understanding of this baffling, lost creature Over the summer, scientists at the National Museum of Natural History acquired therare and remarkably preserved Pachycephalosaurus skull.On Thursday, researchers announced they are getting ready for the public to view it, at least for a few days. Pachycephalosaurusmeans “thickheaded lizard,” which is something of an understatement. Researchers speak lovingly of the bowling ball-esque dome topping its head, and hope to help figure out how that bit of anatomy relates to its behavior.
Was that thick head for ramming and settling rivalries? Or was it a tool for gentler knock-arounds? “They’re really weird, odd, wonderful, mysterious animals,” said Kirk Johnson, a paleontologist and the museum’s director.
[paywall]
Carrano points out a sharp, delicate tooth that was just emerging when the dinosaur’s life ended. The skull will be on display at the museum for one week, starting Dec. 22, before researchers remove it to putit through a battery of intricate and high-tech tests to learn more about the dinosaur’s story, habits and biology.
After scientists tease out all the secrets they can, which they expect will take at least a year or two, the skull will join skeletons belonging to the T. rex and other contemporaries in the museum’s Hall of Fossils, ready for millions of yearly visitors. They alsoplan to post a downloadable 3D model of the skull in the Smithsonian’s digital collection, so someone with a 3D printer can churn out their own plasticcopy.
A private dinosaur hunter discovered the skull in South Dakota and it was excavatedlast year. For paleontologists, the“dream is to walk along the Badlands and see a skull staring out of the ground at you. And it hardly ever happens,” Johnson said. “It happened this time.” An eye socket was sticking out of the ground.
[/paywall]
