Gnatalie: 75-feet-long rare dinosaur species fossil from 150 million years ago

A first-of-its-kind green dinosaur fossil is all set to be put on display for the public at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) in November.

Back in 2007, the 150-million-year-old fossilized remains were found in the Badlands of Utah. Named ‘Gnatalie,’ the dinosaur lived in the late Jurassic Era. The dinosaur existed far earlier than the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, which lived between 66 and 68 million years ago.

Piece by piece, the long-necked skeleton of Gnatalie was brought back to life. This resulted in a colossal 75-foot skeleton, twice the length of a city bus and weighing 5 tons, which is as much as an RV.

“Dinosaurs are a great vehicle for teaching our visitors about the nature of science, and what better than a green, almost 80-foot-long dinosaur to engage them in the process of scientific discovery and make them reflect on the wonders of the world we live in!” said Luis M. Chiappe of the Dinosaur Institute, in an earlier statement . Chiapped led the discovery and excavation work in 2007.

Unique green mineral

Excavating the dinosaur was a challenging task. The team had to sift through a mountain of bones encased in rock while dealing with rattlesnakes and swarms of annoying gnats.

Gnatalie is said to be the most complete Sauropod skeleton found on the West Coast. Given its distinctive long neck, tail, and sturdy legs, it could also represent an entirely new dinosaur species related to the family Diplodocus.

Unlike the typical brown or black fossilized bones (from silica and iron minerals), Gnatalie’s remains were an extraordinary shade of green. This unique coloration is the result of volcanic activity around 50 million to 80 million years ago.

The intense heat from volcanic activity replaced the original minerals in the dinosaur’s bones with a green mineral (celadonite). Over time, the mineral infilled the dinosaur’s bones, resulting in its unique coloration.

Rare preservation

Gnatalie is one of the lucky few: the bones, preserved in a Jurassic riverbed alongside other dinosaurs , have endured the test of time for over 150 million years. Fossil preservation over such vast timescales is exceedingly rare.

NHMLAC paleontologists first spotted a single leg bone discovered in 2007.

Exploration further revealed a dinosaur graveyard containing a diverse mix of remains, such as Diplodocus, Camarasaurus, Allosaurus, and Stegosaurus, that had been brought together by prehistoric river currents.

“Even the reconstructed specimen slated to go on display at the museum this fall is not a single dinosaur but combines parts from two or more individuals of the same species found at the site,” Nat Geo revealed.

Over a ten-year period, National Geographic partnered with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s Dinosaur Institute to document the arduous process of excavating and reconstructing the dinosaur.

The museum conducted a public poll to name the dinosaur, choosing from five green-inspired options: Verdi (Latin for green), Olive (a green fruit), Esme (Spanish for emerald), and Sage (a green plant). The winning name was Gnatalie.

This discovery is expected to be published in a scientific paper next year.