Arkansaurus
"Arkansaurus fridayi" is the informal name of a dinosaur that was discovered in Lockesburg, Arkansas. "Arkansaurus fridayi" was a bipedal coelurosaurian dinosaur, a group of theropods that includes the Tyrannosauridae, Ornithomimidae, and Maniraptora. Its nearest relative was thought to be Ornithomimus, a bird or ostrich-like dinosaur. It is named for the state and its discoverer J.B. Friday, who found the dinosaur's fossilized foot on his farm in 1972. They are the only dinosaur fossil remains ever found in Arkansas.[1]
| Arkansaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | "Arkansaurus" |
| Species: | "fridayi" |
| Binomial name | |
| "Arkansaurus fridayi" Hunt, 2003 | |
History
Friday found the bones while searching for a cow on his property. He donated the bones to the University of Arkansas. Dr. James H. Quinn, then a member of the University's Geology Department, prepared the bones and took them to the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Lincoln, Nebraska. Once there, the bones were examined by experts from both the US and Europe. They were declared to be the remains of an Ornithomimus, although if true, the bones would be the oldest remains ever found of this species.
Upon returning from the meeting, Dr. Quinn and Benjamin Clardy of the Arkansas Geological Commission went to the area on the Friday farm where the remains had been discovered, hoping to find more remains. The site was a pit that had been dug for road construction and the fossils had been taken from an Early Cretaceous deposit within. Unfortunately, all the scientists were able to find was a toe bone. They speculated that the bones had either been scattered when they were buried or during the road construction. In all there were three metatarsals, three phalanges, three claws and two vertebrae found of the "Arkansaurus".
Three casts of the bones were made. These casts were given to the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Geological Commission, and the Arkansas Museum of Science and Natural History. The University cast is hanging in a classroom in Ozark Hall. The Museum of Science and Natural History actually had a large statue of the dinosaur constructed to go along with their cast, and it was on display for many years when the museum was located at the Tower Building. The original bones currently reside at the University of Arkansas Museum Collections, now housed at the Arkansas Archaeological Survey in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The most detailed description of the material is in a 2003 publication by ReBecca Hunt.[2]
While there has been speculation of a hoax outside the field,[3] the "Arkansaurus" material is known to be legitimate dinosaur fossils to researchers. In addition to ReBecca Hunt (Bureau of Land Management), Dan Chure (Dinosaur National Monument), J. McFarland (Arkansas Geological commission), and J. Kirkland (Utah State Paleontologist) have all examined the specimen. Kirkland considered it possibly a representative of Nedcolbertia.
References
- Sattler, H. 1983. "The Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary", Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, NY, 315 pp.