JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Cleveland-Lloyd dinosaur quarry (CLDQ) has been the subject of much debate since the site was originally excavated back in 1927. Since then there have been many different hypotheses on what may have caused the impressive concentration of bones in such a small area.
Located only an hour’s drive from Price, Utah, the CLDQ sports an incredible 15,000 excavated fossils mostly belonging to Allosaurus Fragilis, the most common predator of the late Jurassic Morrison Formation. Allosaurus is a genus of large carnosaurs theropod dinosaurs that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch. The name “Allosaurus” means “different lizard” alluding to its unique concave vertebrae.
Because of this, and because the carnivores’ fossils greatly outnumber the herbivores’ (at least 7:1) the most prevalent and consistent hypothesis is that the quarry is the site of a predator trap.
But how can we be sure?
Angela Reddick, with the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, attempts to prove or disprove the notion once and for all.
“My research was designed to decisively test this hypothesis by statistical measures,” Reddick says. “By closely examining the bones of the allosaurs found at CLDQ and comparing them to the bones of the La Brea Tar Pits most common predator: the dire wolf. To attempt, once and for all determine is Cleveland-Lloyd a predator trap or not.
Reddick’s findings will be presented in cooperation with Geologists of Jackson Hole via a special Zoom-only event tomorrow night. Dinosaurs! Allosaurus Assemblage: Predator Pitfall or Coincidence? was to have taken place live in-person but inclement weather forecast for tomorrow has moved the event online.
Dinosaurs! Allosaurus Assemblage: Predator Pitfall or Coincidence? will take place Tuesday, October 19 at 5:30pm.
