The expedition was led by Jack Horner, curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies. Horner was also recently named senior scholar in the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
A partial T. rex found in Hell Creek and excavated by the Smithsonian team will be donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The T. rex was found on U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service land by Nathan Myrvold, who was visiting the Museum of the Rockies team during their field season in 2001. The nickname for this specimen, "N. rex," honors Mr. Myrvold. A second, more complete T. rex found in Hell Creek will go to the Museum of the Rockies.
"The addition of T. rex fossil bones to the Smithsonian is significant," said Doug Erwin, interim director and curator in the paleobiology department at the Natural History Museum. "The Smithsonian field expedition team has succeeded in their quest to expand the museum's extensive and important collections for future study and research."
The Smithsonian's field team, led by Michael Brett-Surman, Pete Kroehler and Steve Jabo, worked in Hell Creek from June 6 to July 16. The crews endured torrential rain, hail, 70 mph winds, extreme temperature changes and other natural weather challenges throughout their
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Contact: Michele Urie
urie.michele@nmnh.si.edu
202-786-2950
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
21-Aug-2002