Idaho’s newest state symbol is also its oldest. Designated Idaho’s State Dinosaur in 2023, Oryctodromeus (or-ik-tow-drohm-ee-us) lived about 98 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. That makes Idaho’s State Fossil, the Hagerman Horse, a relative newcomer, having lived here about 3.5 million years ago.
Paleontologist Dr. L. J. Krumenacker, an instructor at the College of Eastern Idaho, found the first fossilized remains of Oryctodromeus in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in 2006. It was a lucky find since dinosaur fossils are rare in Idaho. Even so, Oryctodromeus is the most common dinosaur in the state.
Oryctodromeus was a burrowing dinosaur, so far the first to be discovered in the world. Oryctodromeus means “digging runner.” They would have been good at both. The herbivore’s burrows were large since the dinosaurs stood about 3 feet tall, weighed between 50 and 70 pounds, and were nearly 11 feet long. Most of that length—about 2/3 of it—was made up of tail.
White Pine Charter School students in Ammon convinced lawmakers to add Oryctodromeus to the state’s list of symbols. So far, fossils of this dinosaur have been found only in eastern Idaho and the southwest corner of Montana.
Paleontologist Dr. L. J. Krumenacker, an instructor at the College of Eastern Idaho, found the first fossilized remains of Oryctodromeus in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in 2006. It was a lucky find since dinosaur fossils are rare in Idaho. Even so, Oryctodromeus is the most common dinosaur in the state.
Oryctodromeus was a burrowing dinosaur, so far the first to be discovered in the world. Oryctodromeus means “digging runner.” They would have been good at both. The herbivore’s burrows were large since the dinosaurs stood about 3 feet tall, weighed between 50 and 70 pounds, and were nearly 11 feet long. Most of that length—about 2/3 of it—was made up of tail.
White Pine Charter School students in Ammon convinced lawmakers to add Oryctodromeus to the state’s list of symbols. So far, fossils of this dinosaur have been found only in eastern Idaho and the southwest corner of Montana.
Oryctodromeus. (2022, September 18). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryctodromeus
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