Dakota
Hell Creek Formation
This very special dinosaur is the focus of a one hour National Geographic Documentary and a children's book entitled "Dinomummy". The dinosaur was found by Tyler Lyson when he was in high school. The way in which the specimen was buried in the ground hid the importance of the specimen and as a result the excavation of the specimen did not take place until 2004.
In 2004, MRF staff and volunteers began an excavation on three exposed articulated caudal hadrosaur vertebrae. The MRF staff believed there was an articulated hadrosaur tail buried within the hill and expected the excavation to take no more than two weeks. But they were pleasantly surprised to find much much more!
In July 2009, Dakota traveled to Japan and was showcased in the world's largest dinosaur exhibit entitled, Dinosaur Expo 2009, The Miracle of Deserts. The expo included material from Japan, China, Mongolia, Egypt, and the US.
