Museum of the Rockies

Happy #FossilFriday! #Hypacrosaurus stebingeri was a large, crested #hadrosaur (duck-billed #dinosaur) from the Upper #Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of #Montana. The fossils of adults and juveniles of this hadrosaur reveal how its bones changed as it grew. #Paleontology

The scientific paper on this specimen by University of Alberta PhD student Taia Wyenberg-Henzler and MOR Curator of Paleontology Dr. John Scannella can be read here: doi.org/10.7717/peer...

Happy #FossilFriday! Over 66 million years ago this duck-billed #Edmontosaurus (MOR 1627) came face to face with #Tyrannosaurus. Today, the tooth embedded in its snout tells the tale of this Cretaceous encounter. Specimen from lands managed by by Bureau of Land Management.

Tyrannosaur attacking an Edmontosaurus in a forestry landscape. Image by paleoartist Jenn Hall.

New paper alert 🦖
A new study co-authored by our Curator of Paleontology, John Scannella, documents a tyrannosaur tooth embedded in an Edmontosaurus skull, rare evidence of an ancient attack.
📸 by Jenn Hall
Read more: peerj.com/articles/207...
#Paleontology #Fossils #NewResearch

Happy #FossilFriday! MOR Assistant Lab Manager Cassi Knight comes face to face with #BigAl (#MOR693). Typically, the skull of this #Jurassic carnivore is on display in MOR’s Hall of Giants, but today it’s undergoing regular conservation in the Paleo Department.

Few highlights from @museumoftherockies.bsky.social live #FROGS A Chorus of Color exhibit. 15 species from all over the world, 100+ individual specimens. Green Monkey Tree Frog, Poison Darts, Milk Tree Frog & White's Tree Frog. Also have some #paleontology in the exhibit too #amphibians #salamanders

Close-up of a small fossilized frog skeleton displayed on a dark museum pedestal, showing a detailed skull with large eye openings and outstretched limbs; another smaller frog skeleton sits on a raised platform in the background.

Happy #FossilFriday! #Beelzebufo, a large frog from the #Cretaceous of #Madagascar, may have eaten baby #dinosaurs. This “devil toad” hops into MOR with Frogs: A Chorus of Colors. The exhibit features living #frogs & fossil #amphibians.
Cast donated by Triebold Paleontology Inc.

NASA-themed Artemis II boarding pass graphic labeled “Taylor Planetarium,” featuring mission details including the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, Kennedy Space Center launch site, destination around the Moon, crew names, and an Artemis mission patch over a blue lunar surface background.

🚀🌙 Taylor Planetarium is going to the Moon! Our name was submitted to ride along with NASA’s Artemis II mission; and it’ll make the trip around the Moon when the spacecraft launches. 💫

#ArtemisII #TaylorPlanetarium #MuseumoftheRockies

Two fossilized butterfly wing fragments from Lethe montana, light tan in color with faint vein impressions, preserved in stone and photographed on a dark fabric background.

Happy #FossilFriday! Even delicate animals can be preserved in the #fossil record. This #wing belongs to #Lethe montana, a ~32-million-year-old #butterfly. This fossil was discovered in an ancient lake deposit on lands managed by Bureau of Reclamation in western #Montana.

Diagram showing Tyrannosaurus rex growth from juvenile to adult, with a graph of age versus adult size and color-coded silhouettes increasing in size. An inset shows a fossil bone cross-section with growth rings used to estimate age. Credit: Dr. Holly Woodward Ballard

An exciting new study on Tyrannosaurus rex growth, led by MOR Research Associate Dr. Holly Woodward and including 10 specimens in the MOR Paleontology Collections, was published today in the journal PeerJ!

phys.org/news/2026-01...

Front view of a Columbian mammoth fossil skull displayed in a museum case, showing the massive domed cranium, large nasal opening, and a long, curved tusk resting in front of the skull.

Happy #FossilFriday! The Columbian #Mammoth was one of the largest species of mammoth to walk the Earth and roamed North America until ~11,000 years ago. The skull of one of these giants (#MOR604) is on display in the #Cenozoic Corridor at #MOR.

Casts of dinosaur fossils, juvenile on left, mother dinosaur on right. Maiasaura peeblesorum, also known as mother lizard.

Happy #FossilFriday! Like many #birds today, some non-avian #dinosaurs hatched out of their egg and came face-to-face with their parents. #Maiasaura peeblesorum, the state fossil of #Montana, provided the first evidence that ancient dinosaurs may have cared for their young.

Collage of children during summer camp programs and field trip activities at a museum setting during both winter and summer months.

We’re hiring! 🦖 Join the education team at #MuseumoftheRockies as our #SchoolAndYouthProgramManager.
📍 Bozeman, MT (in person)
Interested? Apply now!
🔗 jobs.montana.edu/postings/49856
Equal Opportunity Employer, Veterans/Disabled.

Image of bronze t.rex statue with graph percentage table.

We’re hiring! 🦖 Join the leadership team at #MuseumoftheRockies as our #DirectorOfFinance.
📍 Bozeman, MT (in person)
💼 Starting at $96,000 + excellent benefits (DOE)

Interested? Apply now!
🔗 jobs.montana.edu/postings/49804
Equal Opportunity Employer, Veterans/Disabled.

Dr. Haviv Avrahami uses a handheld scanner to create a 3D digital model of a large ammonite fossil in the Museum of the Rockies collections.

Happy #FossilFriday! MOR Digital Collections and Field Specialist Dr. Haviv Avrahami is surface scanning #fossils in the #MOR collections to create high resolution 3d digital models. This #ammonite (#MOR-IV-1542) is just one of hundreds of fossils digitized this year.

Side-by-side close-up images of fossilized dromaeosaur feet showing their large, curved, sickle-shaped claws. The left image focuses on the raised second toe with its prominent claw, while the right image shows a full foot posed on a textured log, highlighting the sharp, grasping claws.

Happy #FossilFriday! #Dromaeosaurs (#raptors) have large sickle-like claws on their feet. Like today’s hawks, these #Cretaceous predatory #dinosaurs may have used their claws to grasp prey.

A close-up view of a brown, textured fossil slab (MOR 790) showing the preserved scale pattern of a sauropod dinosaur. The rock surface displays distinct, raised polygonal impressions, with small museum labels attached to two sections. The fossil rests on a dark display stand against a black background.

Happy #FossilFriday! This is the preserved scale pattern (MOR 790) from a long-necked #sauropod #dinosaur found in the #Jurassic #Morrison Formation of #Montana. Fossils like this one can provide a clearer view of what these animals looked like when they were alive.

A circular arrangement of various fossilized dinosaur teeth displayed on a dark fabric background. The teeth vary in size, color, and preservation, with some long and sharply curved, others shorter or broken, and textures ranging from smooth dark enamel to lighter, weathered surfaces.

Happy #FossilFriday! #Fossils can come in a variety of colors! These are all #tyrannosaur #teeth from the Upper #Cretaceous #TwoMedicineFormation in #Montana. The different colors reflect conditions and processes that occurred after burial.

Deciphering causes and behaviors: A recurrent pattern of tail injuries in hadrosaurid dinosaurs Biological sciences; Evolutionary biology; Paleobiology

Here is the link to the article: www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Happy #FossilFriday! These are tail vertebrae of the duck-billed #dinosaur #Hypacrosaurus (#MOR549). The arrows highlight #pathologies (injuries). This week, a new study by Bertozzo et al., suggests these pathologies may be caused by mating, indicating this dinosaur is a female.

Happy #FossilFriday! The teeth of #Tyrannosaurus were a scary sight for all the #dinosaurs in the #Cretaceous #HellCreek ecosystem. Tyrannosaurus bite marks have been found on the bones of #Triceratops, #Edmontosaurus, and even other Tyrannosaurus!

This summer, Museum of the Rockies delivered a 3D-printed skull of MOR 2919 (Probrachylophosaurus bergei holotype) to the Depot Museum in Rudyard. It is now on display along the Montana Dinosaur Trail. Dr. John Scannella also presented at Fossil Fun Fest. #Paleontology #Dinosaurs #SummerTales

This week’s #VirtualFossilFriday features a 2025 Fieldwork Update with:
🔸 Lee Hall – Paleontology Lab and Field Manager
🔸 Dr. John Scannella – John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology
🗓️ Fri, Oct 24 | 9–10 a.m. MST
💻 Zoom: bit.ly/3L7BsFu
#Fieldwork #MuseumOfTheRockies

A hand holds a fossilized dinosaur egg with a cracked, textured surface. The grayish-black egg shows detailed preservation of its shell pattern and is displayed against a blurred background of an exhibit.

Happy #FossilFriday! This is one of the first complete #dinosaur #eggs discovered in North America! It is one of many eggs found in the #Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of #Montana at #EggMountain, a site that preserves dinosaur eggs and bones, ancient lizards, mammals, & more.

Fossilized dome of Brontotholus harmoni, a large pachycephalosaurid dinosaur from the Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana, showing its rounded, textured skull surface displayed against a dark background.

Happy #FossilFriday! Meet Brontotholus harmoni (MOR 480), a new pachycephalosaurid from the Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana. Named after former MOR Chief Preparator Bob Harmon. Bronotoholus was named this week in a @ZoolJLinnSoc paper by MSU alumnus @doublebeam and colleagues.

Plioplatecarpus Necromancy: Reconstructing MOR 1062 People familiar with news in paleontology have no doubt seen that the Cretaceous Crossroads exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies recently o...

For Spooky Season, here's us raising the dead mosasaur Plioplatecarpus peckensis for the Cretaceous Crossroads exhibit at @museumoftherockies.bsky.social over the past 2 years. Lots of work goes into getting these specimens ready for their big public moments rmdrc.blogspot.com/2025/10/plio...

YouTube video by Museum of the Rockies Dr. Jane Goodall's Message to MOR Members

"Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall" opens today at MOR. Just 36 hours before her passing, she recorded a message for our members. Join us in honoring her extraordinary life. Our thanks to the Jane Goodall Institute and National Geographic.
Click here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFuM...

(Part 7) We are grateful to everyone who made this pilot program possible and look forward to continuing it in the future. The Browning High School Egg Mountain Eggspedition proved the power of bringing science and culture together in the Montana landscape.

(Part 6) The weekend blended cultural education, scientific discovery, and outdoor adventure, deepening students’ understanding of the region’s rich paleontological and cultural heritage. It was a weekend of growth, inspiration, and community connection.