Page 78 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

antarctica

u Mount KirKPatricK reGion todaY
At 14,855 ft (4,528 m) Mount Kirkpatrick is the highest
peak in the Queen Alexandra mountain range. As it is
mainly free of ice, it is the major source of Antarctica’s
fossils, which are mixed among its scree and gravel.

u lYstrosaurus
This strange-looking animal
was not a dinosaur. It was a
therapsid—an animal with
a mammal-like skull
and a reptilelike walk.
Lystrosaurus was a plant-
eater, had short tusks,
and was capable of
digging burrows.
u Fossil Fern Frond
William Hammer
Although ferns do not grow on Antarctica today, powerful forelimbs
they did when dinosaurs lived there. The fossil A paleontologist at Augustana College, may have been used
fern frond shown above was found among the Illinois, William Hammer (b. 1950) has for digging into the
rocks as evidence. Ferns provided plant-eaters made many field trips to Antarctica. soft ground
with a rich source of food. In 1991 he excavated Cryolophosaurus—
Antarctica’s first dinosaur and the only
theropod that has not been found on any
short horns other continent. His work has identified
each side of the other dinosaur species, including a
head crest prosauropod, a pterosaur, and
mammal-like reptiles. Cryolophosaurus was
a two-legged carnivore
and, although smaller,
it may have looked
similar to Allosaurus

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