Como Bluff is a long ridge extending east–west, located between the towns of
Rock River and
Medicine Bow,
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. The ridge is an
anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
, formed as a result of compressional geological folding. Three geological formations, the
Sundance, the
Morrison Morrison may refer to:
People
* Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison
* Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet
* Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant
Places in the United States
* Morrison, Colorad ...
, and the
Cloverly Formations, containing
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
remains from the Late Jurassic of the
Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising ...
are exposed.
Nineteenth-century
paleontologists
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
discovered many well-preserved specimens of dinosaurs, as well as mammals, turtles, crocodilians, and fish from the Morrison Formation. Because of this, Como Bluff is considered to be one of the major sites for the early discovery of
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
remains. Among the species discovered is the only known specimen of ''
Coelurus
''Coelurus'' ( ) is a genus of coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period (mid-late Kimmeridgian faunal stage, 155–152 million years ago). The name means "hollow tail", referring to its hollow tail vertebrae (Greek κοῖλο ...
''. Significant discoveries were made in 22 different areas scattered along the entire length of the ridge. It is included on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
as well as the
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
list.
History of discovery
![The bone cabin at Como Bluff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/The_bone_cabin_at_Como_Bluff.jpg)
The discovery of dinosaurs at Como Bluff has been recounted numerous times, most notably by Schuchert and LeVene, Shur,
Ostrom
Ostrom or Öström is a Swedish surname meaning "island stream".
Many of the Ostroms in North America are descendants of a Dutch immigrant to New Amsterdam in the 1600's.
The name was van Oosteroom and originated in the area of Utrecht and sever ...
and McIntosh, and Jaffe. Most of the specimens were collected by men working for
O.C. Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among h ...
between 1877 and 1889, although some were collected by the Hubbel brothers for
E.D. Cope between 1879 and 1880. The
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
(AMNH) excavated in 189
189
finding two partial skeletons of sauropods. A summary of the quarries and their contents is given below.
In later years, the American Museum of Natural History and
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
jointly reopened Quarry 9, the Mammal Quarry, 1968–1970, finding only a few specimens. More recently,
Robert Bakker
Robert Thomas Bakker (born March 24, 1945) is an American paleontologist who helped reshape modern theories about dinosaurs, particularly by adding support to the theory that some dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded). Along with his mentor J ...
has done some collecting there with a variety of groups.
In addition to the major significance of dinosaur discoveries at Como Bluff, the site has also been the source of significant early mammal fossils. In early 1878,
Marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
was ecstatic to find that one of his men had uncovered a fossil from a Jurassic mammal. Within a year, the historic Quarry 9 at Como was discovered, producing an astounding 250 specimens, which increased the knowledge of Jurassic mammals exponentially.
Como Bluff historical quarries (pre-1900)
Data source:.
.
.
Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History,
(h)= holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
AMNH Quarries
Excavated by the American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
AMNH Quarry 1
;Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
ia
:Saurischia
Saurischia ( , meaning "reptile-hipped" from the Greek ' () meaning 'lizard' and ' () meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two basic divisions of dinosaurs (the other being Ornithischia), classified by their hip structure. Saurischia and Ornithis ...
::Sauropoda
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...
:::''Diplodocus
''Diplodocus'' (, , or ) was a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs, whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a neo-Latin term derived from Greek διπ ...
'' sp
AMNH Quarry 2
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Brontosaurus excelsus
''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from Ancient Greek, Greek , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, ''B. excelsus'', had long been considered a species of the clos ...
''
:::'' Camarasaurus'' sp,
AMNH localities unknown
(some could be from Quarry 1 or 2)
;Reptilia
:Testudines
Turtles are an order (biology), order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) an ...
::Amphichelydia
:::'' Glyptops plicatus''
:Squamata
Squamata (, Latin ''squamatus'', 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians (worm lizards), which are collectively known as squamates or scaled reptiles. With over 10,900 species, ...
::?Sauria
Sauria is the clade containing the most recent common ancestor of archosaurs (such as crocodilians, dinosaurs, etc.) and lepidosaurs ( lizards and kin), and all its descendants. Since most molecular phylogenies recover turtles as more closely re ...
indeterminant
::Lacertilia
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...
:::'' Paramacellodus'' sp.
: Choristodera
:::'' Cteniogenys antiquus''
:Crocodilia
Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living ...
:: Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis
''Goniopholis'' (meaning "angled scale") is an extinct genus of goniopholidid crocodyliform that lived in Europe and Africa during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Being semi-aquatic it is very similar to modern crocodiles. It ranged from ...
'' sp.
Frederick Brown's Quarries
Brown's Quarry A
;Dinosauria
:Ornithischia
Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek s ...
::Stegosauria
Stegosauria is a group of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. Stegosaurian fossils have been found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly in what is now North America, Europe, ...
:::''Stegosaurus
''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been foun ...
'' sp.
Brown's Quarry B
;Dinosauria
:Ornithischia
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
Brown's Quarry C
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ca ...
:::''Allosaurus fragilis
''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alludi ...
''
Brown's Quarry D
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus fragilis''
Brown's Quarry G
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Camarasaurus'' sp.
Arthur Lakes Quarry 1A. (Big Canyon Quarry)
Excavated by Arthur Lakes
Arthur Lakes (December 21, 1844—November 21, 1917) was an American geologist, artist, writer, teacher and Episcopalian minister. He captured much of his geological and palaeontological field work in sketches and watercolours. Lakes is credited ...
.
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus'' sp.
::Sauropoda
:::''Camarasaurus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
Ornithopoda () is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs, called ornithopods (), that started out as small, bipedal running grazers and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world ...
:::''Camptosaurus amplus'' (h) (now ''Allosaurus
''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alludin ...
'' sp.)
E.D. Cope's Quarries
Excavated by Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...
Cope's Quarry 3
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus'' sp.
Cope's Quarry 4
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
Cope's Quarry 5
;Reptilia
: Pterosauria
:::'' Dermodactylus montanus''
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Apatosaurus
''Apatosaurus'' (; meaning "deceptive lizard") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. Othniel Charles Marsh described and named the first-known species, ''A. ajax'', in 1877, an ...
'' sp.
Cope's localities unknown
(could be from Quarry 1, 2)
;Reptilia
:Testudines
::Amphichelydia
:::''Dinochelys
''Dinochelys'' (from Greek ''deinos'' -terrible- and ''chelys'' -turtle) is an extinct genus of paracryptodiran turtle from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation.
See also
* Paleobiota of the Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a di ...
'' sp.
:::''Glyptops plicatus''
:Crocodilia
::Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis'' sp.
;Dinosauria
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
:::?''Camptosaurus
''Camptosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of plant-eating, beaked ornithischian dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic period of western North America and possibly also Europe. The name means 'flexible lizard' ( Greek (') meaning 'bent' and (') meaning 'li ...
'' sp.
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
;Mammalia
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...
:genus and species indeterminant
William Harlow Reed's Quarries
Excavated by William Harlow Reed
William Harlow Reed (9 June 1848 – 24 April 1915) was an American fossil collector and pioneer. He served as a curator at the Museum of Geology at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. He collected for a while for Othniel Charles Marsh but left a ...
.
Reed's Quarry 1
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus atrox'' (h) (now ''Allosaurus fragilis'')
::Sauropoda
:::''Camarasaurus grandis
''Camarasaurus grandis'' is an extinct species of sauropod dinosaur in the genus that lived during the Jurassic in what is now the western United States. It is the geologically oldest of the four species of the genus ''Camarasaurus''.
Taxonomy
' ...
'' (h)
:::''Camarasaurus impar'' (h) (now ''Camarasaurus grandis'')
:::''Camarasaurus robustus'' (h) (now ''Camarasaurus grandis'')
:::''Pleurocoelus montanus'' (h) (now ''Camarasaurus grandis'')
:::''Diplodocus'' sp.
;Mammalia
:::genus and species indeterminant
Reed's Quarry 1 ½
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus fragilis''
::Sauropoda
:::genus and species indeterminant
Reed's Quarry 2
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Apatosaurus'' sp.
Reed's Quarry 3
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus lucaris'' (h) (now ''Allosaurus'' sp.)
::Sauropoda
:::''Camarasaurus grandis''
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
:::''Dryosaurus
''Dryosaurus'' ( , meaning 'tree lizard', Greek ' () meaning 'tree, oak' and () meaning 'lizard'; the name reflects the forested habitat, not a vague oak-leaf shape of its cheek teeth as is sometimes assumed) is a genus of an ornithopod dinosaur ...
'' sp.
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
Reed's Quarry 4
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus fragilis''
::Sauropoda
:::''Apatosaurus'' sp.
:::''Barosaurus'' sp.
:::''Camarasaurus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
Reed's Quarry 5
;Reptilia
:Pterosauria
:::''Dermodactylus montanus'' (h) (now ''nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
'')
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Diplodocus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
:::''Dryosaurus altus'' (h)
Reed's Quarry 6
;Reptilia
:Crocodylia
::Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis'' sp.
Reed's Quarry 7 (Three Trees Quarry)
;Dinosauria
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
:::'' Laosaurus consors'' (h) (now '' Othnielosaurus consors'')
Reed's Quarry 8
;Reptilia
:Testudines
::genus and species indeterminant
:Crocodilia
::Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis'' sp.
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus'' sp.
:::'' Coelurus fragilis''
::Sauropoda
:::''Camarasaurus'' sp.
:::''Diplodocus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
Reed's Quarry 9 (Mammal Quarry)
;Osteichthyes
Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage ...
:Actinopterygii
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
::genus and species indeterminant
:Amiiformes
The Amiiformes order of fish has only one extant species, the bowfin (''Amia calva''). These Amiiformes are found in the freshwater systems of North America, in the United States and parts of southern Canada. They live in freshwater streams, r ...
::'' Ophiopsis'' sp.
:Sarcopterygii
Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass includi ...
::Dipnoi
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the order Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, i ...
:::'' Ceratodus guentheri''
;Amphibia
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
: Anura
:::'' Comobatrachus aenigmatis''
::Discoglossoidea
:::'' Enneabatrachus hechti''
::Pelobatidae
The European spadefoot toads are a family of frogs, the Pelobatidae, with only one extant genus ''Pelobates'', containing six species. They are native to Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern Africa, and western Asia.
Description
The Europe ...
indeterminant
::Pipoidea
Pipoidea are a clade of frogs that have variously been defined as a suborder (original definition), superfamily, or an unranked node-based taxon. There is no single, authoritative higher-level classification of frogs, and Vitt and Caldwell (201 ...
?
:::'' Eobatrachus agilis'' (h)
:Caudata
The Caudata are a group of amphibians containing the extant salamanders (Urodela) and all extinct species of amphibians more closely related to salamanders than to frogs. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance ...
::genus and species indeterminant
::'' Comonecturoides marshi'' (h)
;Reptilia
:Testudines
::Amphichelydia
:::'' Dinochelys whitei''
:::''Glyptops ornatus''
:Squamata
::?Sauria indeterminant
::Lacertilia
:::''Dorsetisaurus
''Dorsetisaurus'' is a genus of extinct lizard, known from the Late Jurassic of North America, and the Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous of Europe. The genus was first reported from the Early Cretaceous ( Berriasian) Lulworth Formation of the ...
'' sp.
:::'' Paramacellodus'' sp.
:Rhynchocephalia
Rhynchocephalia (; ) is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living species, the tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') of New Zealand. Despite its current lack of diversity, during the Mesozoic rhynchocephalians were a diverse g ...
:::'' Opisthias rarus'' (h)
:::'' Theretairus antiquus'' (h)
:Choristodera
:::''Cteniogenys antiquus'' (h)
:Crocodylia
::Sphenosuchia
Sphenosuchia is a suborder of basal crocodylomorphs that first appeared in the Triassic and occurred into the Middle Jurassic. Most were small, gracile animals with an erect limb posture. They are now thought to be ancestral to crocodyliforms, ...
:::''Macelognathus vagans
''Macelognathus'' is an extinct genus of sphenosuchian crocodylomorph from the Late Jurassic. Originally it was believed be a turtle and later a dinosaur. It lived in what is now Wyoming, in North America.Moodie, R.L. 1908. The relationship of t ...
'' (h)
::Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis'' sp.
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus fragilis''
:::''Ceratosaurus nasicornis
''Ceratosaurus'' (from Greek κέρας/κέρατος, ' meaning "horn" and σαῦρος ' meaning "lizard") was a carnivorous theropod dinosaur in the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian). The genus was first described in 1884 ...
''
:::''Coelurus fragilis''
:::'' Ornitholestes hermanni''?
::Tyrannosauroidea
Tyrannosauroidea (meaning 'tyrant lizard forms') is a superfamily (or clade) of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent b ...
:::'' Stokesosaurus clevelandi''?
::Sauropoda
:::Macronaria
Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs. Macronarians are named after the large diameter of the nasal opening of their skull, known as the external naris, which exceeded the size of the orbit, the skull opening where the eye is located (hence ...
indeterminant
:::Diplodocidae
Diplodocids, or members of the family Diplodocidae ("double beams"), are a group of sauropod dinosaurs. The family includes some of the longest creatures ever to walk the Earth, including ''Diplodocus'' and ''Supersaurus'', some of which may have ...
indeterminant
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
:::''Othnielosaurus consors''
:::''Dryosaurus'' sp.
:::''Camptosaurus'' sp.
:Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus'' sp.
:Pterosauria
::Rhamphorhynchoidea
The Rhamphorhynchoidea forms one of the two suborders of pterosaurs and represents an evolutionary grade of primitive members of flying reptiles. This suborder is paraphyletic unlike the Pterodactyloidea, which arose from within the Rhamphorhynch ...
:::'' Laopteryx priscus'' (h) (now ''nomen dubium'')
;Mammalia
:Docodonta
Docodonta is an Order (biology), order of extinct Mammaliaformes, mammaliaforms that lived during the Mesozoic, from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. They are distinguished from other early Mammaliaformes, mammaliaforms by their relativel ...
::Docodontidae
Docodonta is an order of extinct mammaliaforms that lived during the Mesozoic, from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. They are distinguished from other early mammaliaforms by their relatively complex molar teeth, from which the order ge ...
:::'' Docodon affinis'' (h)
:::''Docodon crassus'' (h)
:::''Docodon striatus'' (h)
:::''Docodon superus'' (h)
:::''Docodon victor'' (h)
:Multituberculata
Multituberculata (commonly known as multituberculates, named for the multiple tubercles of their teeth) is an extinct order of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, a ...
::Allodontidae
Allodontidae (from ancient Greek "ἄλλος" "ὀδούς", "different tooth") is a family of extinct multituberculate mammal that lived in what is now North America during the Upper Jurassic period. They were relatively early mammals and ar ...
:::''Ctenacodon laticeps
''Ctenacodon'' ("comb needle tooth" from Ancient Greek κτενός (ktenós), "comb" + Latin acus, "needle" + Ancient Greek ὀδών (odṓn), "tooth") is a genus of extinct mammal that lived in what is now North America during the Upper Jura ...
'' (h)
:::''Ctenacodon scindens'' (h)
:::''Ctenacodon serratus'' (h)
:::'' Psalodon fortis'' (h)
:::''Psalodon potens'' (h)
:::?''Psalodon marshi'' (h)
: Triconodonta
::Amphilestidae
Amphilestidae is a family of Mesozoic mammals, generally regarded as eutriconodonts. They may form a paraphyletic or polyphyletic assemblage, though they share with gobiconodontids their similar tooth occlusion
Occlusion may refer to:
Health ...
:::''Aploconodon comoensis
''Aploconodon'' is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammals belonging to the family Amphidontidae. It contains one species, ''A. comoensis''.
It is present in stratigraphic zone 5 of the Morrison Formation.Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ''Jura ...
'' (h)
:::'' Comodon gidleyi'' (h)
::Triconodontidae
Triconodontidae is an extinct family of small, carnivorous mammals belonging to the order Eutriconodonta, endemic to what would become Asia, Europe, North America and probably also Africa and South America during the Jurassic through Cretaceous p ...
:::'' Priacodon ferox'' (h)
:::''Priacodon grandaevus'' (h)
:::''Priacodon lulli'' (h)
:::''Priacodon robustus'' (h)
:::'' Trioracodon bisulcus'' (h)
:Symmetrodonta
Symmetrodonta is a group of Mesozoic mammals and mammal-like synapsids characterized by the triangular aspect of the molars when viewed from above, and the absence of a well-developed talonid. The traditional group of 'symmetrodonts' ranges in a ...
::Amphidontidae
The Amphidontidae are a family of extinct mammals from the Early Cretaceous, belonging to the triconodonts. It contains most of the species previously belonged to Amphilestidae.
Phylogeny
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "b ...
:::'' Amphidon superstes'' (h)
::Tinodontidae
Tinodontidae is an extinct Family (biology), family of actively mobile Mammal, mammals, endemic to what would now be North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Taxonomy
''Tinodontidae''
was named by Mars ...
:::'' Tinodon bellus'' (h)
:::'' Eurylambda aequicrurius''
: Dryolestida
::Dryolestidae
Dryolestidae is an extinct family of Mesozoic mammals, known from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous of the North Hemisphere. The oldest known member, '' Anthracolestes'', is known from the Middle Jurassic Itat Formation of Western Siber ...
:::'' Amblotherium gracilis'' (h)
:::''Dryolestes priscus
''Dryolestes'' is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammal from the Morrison Formation and the Alcobaça Formation of Portugal. The type species ''Dryolestes priscus'' is present in stratigraphic zones 2, 5, and 6.Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ...
''
:::''Dryolestes obtusus'' (h)
:::''Dryolestes vorax'' (h)
:::'' Laolestes eminens'' (h)
:::''Laolestes'' (''Melanodon'') ''goodrichi'' (h)
:::''Laolestes'' (''Melanodon'') ''oweni'' (h)
:::'' Miccylotyrans minimus'' (h)
::Paurodontidae
Paurodontidae is a family of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous mammals in the order Dryolestida. Remains of paurodontids have been found in the United States, Britain, Portugal, and Tanzania. The group likely represents a paraphyletic group of ...
:::'' Araeodon intermissus'' (h)
:::'' Archaeotrigon brevimaxillus'' (h)
:::''Archaeotrigon distagmus'' (h)
:::'' Comotherium richi'' (h)
:::'' Euthlastus cordiformis'' (h)
:::''Paurodon valens
''Paurodon'' is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammal from the Morrison Formation of the Western United States.
Taxonomy
''Paurodon'' is the type genus of the dryolestidan group Paurodontidae. ''Araeodon'', ''Archaeotrigon'', ''Foxraptor'', ...
'' (h)
:::'' Tathiodon agilis'' (h)
Reed's Quarry 10
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Brontosaurus excelsus'' (h)
Reed's Quarry 11
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::''Apatosaurus amplus'' (h) (now ''Brontosaurus excelsus'')
:Ornithischia
::Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus duplex'' (h) (now ''Stegosaurus ungulatus'')
;Mammalia
:genus and species indeterminant
Reed's Quarry 12 (Robbers' Roost Quarry)
;Reptilia
:Testudines
::genus and species indeterminant
:Crocodylia
::Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis'' sp.
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus'' sp.
:::''Torvosaurus tanneri''
:::''Coelurus'' sp.
:::'' Fosterovenator churei''
::Sauropoda
:::''Camarasaurus'' sp.
:::''Diplodocus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
:ornithopoda
::genus and species indeterminant
:Stegosauria
:::''Stegosaurus ungulatus'' (h)
Reed's Quarry 13
;Reptilia
:Testudines
::Amphichelydia
:::''Glyptops plicatulus''
:Crocodylia
::Mesosuchia
:::''Goniopholis'' sp.
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Coelurus agilis'' (h) (part of ''Coelurus fragilis'' holotype)
:::''Coelurus fragilis'' (h)
:Saurischia
::Sauropoda
:::?''Brachiosaurus
''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in th ...
'' sp.
:::''Camarasaurus lentus'' (h)
:::''Diplodocus'' sp.
:Ornithischia
::Ornithopoda
:::''Camptonotus dispar'' (h) (now ''Camptosaurus dispar'')
:::''Camptosaurus medius'' (h)
:::''Camptosaurus nanus'' (h)
:::''Camptosaurus browni'' (h)
:::''Dryosaurus'' sp.
::Stegosauria
:::''Diracodon laticeps'' (h) (now ''Stegosaurus'' sp.)
:::''Stegosaurus sulcatus'' (h)
:::''Stegosaurus stenops''
:::''Stegosaurus ungulatus''
Reed Quarry 14
;Dinosauria
:Saurischia
::Theropoda
:::''Allosaurus ferox'' (h) (now ''Allosaurus fragilis'')
See also
* List of fossil sites
This list of fossil sites is a worldwide list of localities known well for the presence of fossils. Some entries in this list are notable for a single, unique find, while others are notable for the large number of fossils found there. Many of t ...
''(with link directory)''
References
External links
Como Bluffs fossil quarries
Como Bluff
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Dinosaur Fossil Cabin Museum
{{authority control
Ridges of Wyoming
Landforms of Albany County, Wyoming
Landforms of Carbon County, Wyoming
Jurassic geology of Wyoming
Morrison Formation
Paleontology in Wyoming
National Natural Landmarks in Wyoming
Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
1970s in paleontology
National Register of Historic Places in Albany County, Wyoming