Camera Critter #110

Several months ago, I posted a Camera Critter showing the fossilized remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex named Sue. (see the post here) I had gone to see the display at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in 2001.

Not long after I made that post, another Tyrannosaurus Rex display went up inside the walls of OMSI. This T-Rex is named Samson.

(click to enlarge)

Samson was discovered in South Dakota in 1987. It has been estimated the dinosaur was about 40 feet long and could have looked into a second-story window. It weighed about 7 1/2 tons.

As a display item, Samson stand about 15 feet high and is just under 40 feet in length.

And of course while there, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph the fossilized critter below.

The above fossil is a Dire Wolf found in the plains of Kansas.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters from around the world. Stop the homepage here to see more, then add your own and join the fun.

Camera Critter #89

When I was a kid, I loved going to the Field Museum in Chicago. When a person walked through the doors, the first thing seen would be a skeleton of a dinosaur...Tyrannosaurus Rex to be exact.

It was the only T-rex skeleton I had ever seen...until December 2001. I had gone to Portland, Oregon with a friend. After picking up another friend, we headed for Oregon Museum of Science and Industry where the largest known T-rex skeleton was on temporary display.

Sue

Name "Sue" after the person who discovered the bones, the skeleton stands 13 feet tall at the hips, is 42 feet long and has a skull five feet in length.

Sue's skull

"Sue" was found in South Dakota on Aug. 12 1990. Not long after the discovery, "Sue" became a legal matter and was seized by the government. The bones were later put up for auction and when the hammer fell, the Field Museum of Natural History had the highest bid.

When "Sue" was alive, her kind lived in western North America. They were meat eaters and their jaws contained 58 teeth ranging from 7 to 12 inches in length (19.05 to 30.5 centimeters).

The first T-rex discovered was found Barnum Brown in 1902 in Hell Creek, Montana. He gave the fossil the name, Tyrannosaurus Rex, or "Tyrant Lizard King."

"Sue" is now on permanent display at the entrance of Stanley Hall at the Field Museum in Chicago. It replaces the original, incomplete skeleton I remember as a child and adds a more realistic pose to the bones.

Sue's mouth

I do like taking photos of lizards, but this would have been one lizard I would use a LARGE telescope to photograph.

Sometime in the next month or two, myself and the same friend will again head to Portland to pick up the same friend who lives there. And again, we will head to OMSI and view the bones of another Tyrannosaurus Rex. Smaller than "Sue," this one is called "Sampson" and is the most complete skeleton ever found.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters of all types. Go to the Meme homepage here and check out more entries. Then join the fun and let the world see your critters!