Ecosystem reconstruction of the Late Jurassic Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry (IMAGE)
Caption
Ecosystem reconstruction of the Late Jurassic Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry around 150 million years ago in Colorado, the United States. The landscape is dominated by gymnosperm plants such as conifers and ferns as this was before angiosperms (flowering plants). There is a diverse array of bipedal theropod dinosaurs including the largest in the ecosystem Torvosaurus (far right in the brown), alongside two Allosaurus in the centre (green) unsuccessfully hunting a Stegosaurus (green with red plates on its back), while Ceratosaurus and Marshosaurus prowl for food in a shallow stream and finally Stokesosaurus pursues a small mammal. Baby long necked sauropod dinosaurs are hiding or escaping from potential predators in the foreground, including one swimming and another struggling to get down a relatively steep slope, while on the far right one stays motionless in the underbrush to avoid the Torvosaurus. In the distance, the adult Diplodocus is followed by a juvenile and the long necked Camarasaurus searches for fresh growth on conifer trees.
Credit
Sergey Krasovskiy and Pedro Salas
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License
CC BY-NC