OUT OF THE WOODS

The image below is a photo of the exhibit panel. Following it is a transcript of the panel.

Photo of the panel from the exhibit.

110 million years ago, in autumn, a pack of Deinonychus shattered the early morning calm of a Montana conifer forest.

Startled forest dwellers -- include a herd of Tenontosaurus -- look on as the predatory Deinonychus poise to attack their victim.

Fossils of these animals have been excavated from the Cloverly formation, a rock series that covers north-central Wyoming and extends into southern Montana. It is one of the few areas with well-preserved vertebrate fossils from this time period.

Since no plants were found in the Cloverly Formation, these plants are based on fossils from the Kootenai Formation of Montana, a rock series of the same age.

PICTURE CAPTIONS:

Cladophlebis -- fern
Cycadeoidea -- cycad relative
Ginkgo pluripartita -- ginkgo
Sequoia -- redwood
Taxodium -- bald cypress
Equisetum montanensis -- horsetails
Arcellites -- water fern; look for this aquatic plant in the crocodile pond
cypress log with termites ( Cretatermes ); walk around the bald cypress trees and look closely at the rotting log to see the worker and soldier termites