Dubbed "Elvis" by Murphy, this fully articulated specimen was exposed on the face of a hillside 15 miles north of Malta, Montana, in Phillips County.
Adding to the uniqueness of this fossil is the fact that Elvis is the first three-dimensional hadrosaur ever recovered.
Skeletons are usually crushed by tons of earth, which distorts their bones. However, this brachylophosaurus was quickly covered in sand when it died, with sand also filling the rib cage cavity.
The animal is so well preserved that tendons and ligaments are still visible and it is fully intact from head to tail. The 77-million-year-old specimen is 95 percent complete, making it an extremely rare discovery.
"Elvis" is on display at the Phillips County Museum in Malta, Montana. This Brachylophosaurus is complete (minus a few feet of tail), and is "inflated," that is, surrounding sand filled the animal's body cavities as it decomposed, preserving it in three dimensions.
Dubbed "Elvis" by Murphy, this fully articulated specimen was exposed on the face of a hillside 15 miles north of Malta, Montana, in Phillips County.
