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Remember "Dakota," the exquisitely-preserved hadrosaur that was the selling point of a book that barely featured it? (See here for more gripes) It turns out that it's an Edmontosaurus, although the species name is left off so I have no idea whether the specimen represents a new variety of Edmontosaurus or not.
There is some distressing news, though. According to the man who found the skeleton, Tyler Lyson, he's planning on taking "Dakota" on a world tour, eventually finding a home in a museum Lyson hopes to create in his hometown of Marmath, North Dakota. "Dakota" will first go on display at the North Dakota Heritage Center this summer, but I really hope that Lyson changes his mind about taking the 5 ton skeleton around the world. It's bad enough that "Lucy," the famed specimen of Australopithecus afarensis, is touring the world (although, I admit, I'll go to see the skeleton when it comes to New York City); I see no reason to take Dakota on a world tour when not one scientific publication on the fossil has even been published yet.
Overall I'm a bit troubled by the way "Dakota" has been featured in documentaries, two books, and numerous news reports, but very little information about the dinosaur has been released. It's like endlessly being teased, especially if the fossil is as significant as we're told. I'm glad that National Geographic wants to get people excited about the discovery, but I think they're really going about this process all wrong, and it seems that a major scientific discovery is being used more to bring in some money than to add to our understanding of natural history. I hope we'll see something substantial about "Dakota" soon, or at least before it starts on a trip around the world.
Life Science
Comments
Yeah - This is a total WTF situation. SHOW ME THE TISSUE!
Posted by: J-Dog | March 18, 2008 2:05 PM
I'm baffled by Dakota's media frenzy, too. She's not the first dinosaur to show tissue fossilization, after all. And it's just a garden-variety Edmontosaurus? Those buggers are a dime a dozen.
Posted by: Zach Miller | March 18, 2008 2:19 PM
I agree with you about "priceless" fossils traveling more than necessary. However, I did take my daughter to see Lucy when she was in Houston Texas last fall, and she still talks about it. I think it was a once in a life time experience for both of us and definitly a way to get someone interested in the paleo sciences. This year for her birthday she wants to go to the Bad Lands to dig for fossils.
Posted by: Jason Sexton | March 18, 2008 3:19 PM
Sounds like a 3 ring circus or freak show. Rather sad really. Who will be paying for all of this I wonder? When we took the Cryolophosaurus to Tokyo I was with it through the who thing and they paid for every bit of the expense. It was not cheap at all, so I can't help but wonder...
Posted by: ReBecca | March 18, 2008 3:21 PM
And it's just a garden-variety Edmontosaurus?
I'd love to see your garden. But why has it taken all this time for this information to emerge?
Posted by: chris y | March 19, 2008 6:23 AM