[LOOK] Meet the Dinosaurs That Roamed Across Pre-Historic Wyoming

Before the Great Plains: Wyoming's Waterfront Property Days

The morning dawns bright and warm. It's humid, the sound of waves crashing along the shore. Ferns rustle in the mild breeze. This isn't some California beach. It's Wyoming, 50.5 million years ago.

Long before Wyoming became the arid desert and alpine forest-covered state we know it as today; it was buried in the ocean before slowly turning into a coastal plain by the Triassic period. By the Jurassic period, great sand dunes would sweep across the territory before once again submerging into the sea during the Late Cretaceous period.

Wyoming, during the era of the dinosaurs, was lush and full of greenery that could sustain the diets of the giant herbivores living here. Its coastal setting meant sea creatures like the plesiosaurus (known best in today's world as the possible source of Loch Ness Monster myths) roamed the seas while nearby, triceratops and massive sauropods wandered the rich vegetation of the plains. It was a dinosaur paradise. But what sort of dinosaurs were living it up in pre-historic Wyoming?

What Types of Dinosaurs Roamed Wyoming?

Wyoming was home to numerous kinds of dinosaurs, including giant sauropods (known as 'Long Neck' dinosaurs), pterosaurs (flying reptilian cousins of dinosaurs), and theropods (bipedal carnivores). Most Wyoming dinosaur skeletons are found in the Morrison Formation, a rock formation that extends throughout the Western United States.

The Mighty Triceratops: Wyoming's State Dinosaur

Perhaps most famous in Wyoming is the state dinosaur, the triceratops. The triceratops is a member of the ceratopsian family of dinosaurs. It had a large frill, three horns on its head for defense, and a curved beak similar to a bird's. The triceratops was likely prey of the tyrannosaurus rex - in 1997, a triceratops fossil was found with bitemarks from a t-rex. (Natural History Museum)

The Triceratops was named Wyoming's state dinosaur on March 18, 1994. (Wyoming Secretary of State)

What Did Wyoming's Dinosaurs Eat?

Herbivore dinosaurs like the ankylosaurus and triceratops thrived on the vegetation of the era—giant ferns, grasses, and ancient pine trees. Carnivores like the T-Rex hunted smaller dinosaurs as prey, while plesiosaurs hunted prehistoric fish.