Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — High above the Utah desert, paleontologists finished work on a fossil first found in 1859, closing one of the longest recoveries in American dinosaur history. The fossil was located high on the side of a cliff, making it almost impossible to recover for more than 150 years. When we show you the site, you'll know why it took so long. The dinosaur is Dystrophaeus viaemalae, and according to Carrie Levitt-Bussian, Paleontology Collections Manager for the Natural History Museum of Utah, it was the first dinosaur found west of the Mississippi river. "One of the many things I love about Dystrophaeus is its historically important," Levitt-Bussian said, "and we have to rock climb to get there and we have helicopter support, but it's also scientifically important too." Its remote cliffside location made full excavation impossible for generations of scientists. The site was documented, lost, rediscovered and ultimately left behind for future scientists with better tools, according to Levitt-Bussian. "He actually says some future geologists with better tools will be able to relocate the site," she said. "And we are those future geologists." The payoff for the excavation wasn't just historical, it was also scientific. Levitt-Bussian said the fossil was of the oldest sauropod dinosaur from North America, at approximately 157 million years old. Sauropods were very large herbivores that walked on four legs, possessing long necks, long tails and small heads. Getting the fossil out meant climbing hundreds of feet up a cliff, then bringing it down safely. Levitt Bussian described using harnesses to repel down to the excavation site before belaying back up. "It takes an hour to get up there because it's on the side of a cliff," she said. Throughout the excavation, Levitt‑Bussian carried an Explorers Club flag — one of just 222 issued worldwide to recognize non‑commercial scientific exploration. "As it got helicoptered — after 166 years of being excavated — we attached the flag to the helicopter net," Levitt-Bussian said. "So as it was put into the back of our truck, the flag was waving, and I was so proud."
Read more: New dinosaur fossils excavated at Dinosaur National Monument
