5.8" Tyrannosaur (Daspletosaurus?) Caudal Vertebra - Montana

Tyrannosaur (Daspletosaurus?) Caudal Vertebra - Montana #192729

This is a gorgeous, 5.8" wide Tyrannosaur (Daspletosaurus sp.?) vertebra from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. It was collected this last summer and has been nicely prepared from the hard rock surrounding it. The centrum is overall in good condition with some weathering along the edges and across each process. There is repair and restoration through the body of the vertebra, primarily along one side of the specimen. This restoration continues upward through the base of the transverse process which was found detached from the vertebra within the rock. Additional gap fill restoration can be found surrounding the neural canal, however the majority of the canal is natural bone.

It sits beautifully on the included custom metal display stand.

There are three described Tyrannosaurs found in the Two Medicine formation (Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus & Albertosaurus). An isolated vertebra would probably be indistinguishable between the three species.

The Two Medicine Formation is a geographical formation in Central Montana and Southern Alberta, Canada. The formation is predominantly sandstone laid down by rivers and deltas during the Campanian Age of the Cretaceous, about 80-75 million years ago. Approximately two thousand feet thick on the western edge, it lies on top of the Virgelle Sandstone formation and under the Bearpaw Shale. It is located between the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and the Sweetgrass Arch, a tectonic fold feature 40-90 miles east of the Front Range.

The Two Medicine is the same age as the Judith River Formation found further east. It was laid down further inland from the Western Interior Seaway, while the Judith River Formation was deposited along the coast. The Two Medicine contains much of the same dinosaur fauna, but fewer reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic fossils.

A view of the Two Medicine Formation quarry operated by Northwest Montana Fossils, where much of our Two Medicine dinosaur material has been found.