Baptanodon

Looking at the mountains and high desert plateaus of Wyoming today, it’s hard to imagine that much of it was once a marine environment covered by what scientists call the Sundance Sea. A portion of The Children’s Museum’s Jurassic Mile® dig site was once a coastal plain, and sediment formations there contain many forms of fossilized sea life.

 

In 2020, museum staff and contractors from Research Casting International (RCI) excavated these fossil remains of a Baptanodon, part of an extinct order of marine reptiles known as ichthyosaurs. These animals had a streamlined body shape similar to that of a dolphin and enormous eyes that were most likely useful for hunting prey at night.

 

The Baptanodon fossil was located below a steep embankment. RCI excavated the fossils in large blocks, which then needed to be moved up to the top of the hill without causing damage. To do this, they devised a makeshift sled consisting of a truck hood attached to a heavy-duty strap that was placed underneath the blocks so they could be slid safely up the side of the cliff.