When is a dinosaur not a dinosaur? When it's fairly dull I guess. Just look at Thescelosaurus. Not brainy, not much in the way of fangs, claws, armor, clubs, or anything else sexy. It's also a fairly rare dinosaur, with just a handful of reasonably complete specimens. We at the RMDRC have been lucky, preparing the only complete skull so far (on "Bert"), as well as now preparing a pretty dang complete skeleton, "Jonathan".
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVV4Q2oi0grRAca6GWSPGuhoD-YzE5fet_jrWtGTheM9ZgeXjoSGZafkTLNtWatyMY9cnpt62_9IwW93mILuJAYTF2T61ktE_OppTCxiEtU5Uw15oucaCQGV1tO4ucOdBCxIQY_XMDhLZ/s320/jonathan+display+001.JPG) |
Right leg from the former display |
Jonathan was discovered in 2006 in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. It was nearly complete, minus the tip of the tail and the head/neck where it had eroded out into the gully. Lying belly-up, once show prepped, it nearly looked like it died just yesterday.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPRkWbLEIY8SzyNi_oWB8lhu0tYmmkRc6tD2bCq2b1ll_3YbGVCp1NL96j1OZBbSR-IHF8bW03t3I8pIJ7UvH_qlv2TT9PJ_Q4l9rgyp8mWFSq2fN5SwjOTlbOzXXv0gp5WUd_XBaQjxm/s320/Jonathan99+003.jpg) |
Main jacket |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiXYhIygA7Q6GJX3AnX6cx4dirOxhs6g7PBSzqCnJOrkbTmw3lsZtue4HZjAhOsC0Y6bptZJ8BNAQ4m-FkvjBAB494TBIQEHNx4Fa-0DdFNrdxVBZhS_AY3_IT9gd-S9S3Ln0rNKe07lE/s320/Jonathan99+007.jpg) |
Look at that cute little first chevron |
We have now started to prepare all of the bones free of the matrix. We will restore them, mold them, reconstruct the missing bits, and offer a cast of this big Thescelosaurus (13-14 feet or 4m long) for sale to institutions. The original will be mounted in 3d on a steel armature. That last bit is a LOT of work, but it's also pretty satisfying and a bit of fun too, especially if you enjoy doing metal work!
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