Three truckloads of new fossils make their way to Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — After another successful summer dig season in Wyoming, three truckloads of fossils have made the journey to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis for further study.

In a news release, officials from the Children's Museum said thirteen pallets of material, including three jackets that weigh one to two tons each, made their way back to the museum. Among the discoveries are hips, a good portion of the back and ribs, along with some limb bones.

Museum officials said most of what was shipped back belonged to an 80-foot-long sauropod that eventually will be displayed in the museum's Dinosphere.

The museum's dig team also discovered a lot of teeth that belonged to theropods (meat eaters) that would have been needed to scavenge a meal from a dead dinosaur or to eat from live prey. The largest tooth discovered is about the size of an adult thumb.

Visitors to the museum can see members of the team at the Paleo Prep Lab as they clean and prep the new discoveries for display at the museum. The museum said they will be assembled for display in the redesigned Dinosphere that is tentatively slated to open in March 2022.