Living in the Shadow of Dinosaurs

In addition to the dinosaurs, many other animals lived in the Morrison envirnoment including other reptiles, fish, amphibians, insects and even mammals. Many of these creatures, we know about from very limited and small fragements of bone material.

 

Artist rendition of Opisthias.

Walters & Kissenger, LLC

Reptiles

Dinochelys whitei
Dinochelys may have lived a life similar to that of modern river and pond turtles.

Glyptops plicatulus
Glyptops probably lived a life similar to that of modern turtles.

Hoplosuchus kayi
Hoplosuchus is a long-limbed, running, terrestrial crocodile.

Opisthias rarus
Opisthias rarus is a lizard-like reptile known as a sphenodont that reached a length of a foot or more.

 

Amphibians

Iridotriton hechti
The name of this Jurassic salamander means "rainbow newt" since it was found in the Rainbow Park area of Dinosaur National Monument.

Rhadinosteus parvus
This small Jurassic frog with a body length of about half an inch has only been found at Dinosaur.

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Mammals

Glirodon grandis
Though it was the size of a rat, this Jurassic mammal was not a rodent.

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Mollusks

Unionidae clams/Vetulonaia sp.
These freshwater clams are the the most abundant organism preserved in the Carnegie Quarry.

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