GEORGIA DINOSAURS

Dr. David Schwimmer presented a program at the William Weinman Mineral Museum in March 1998 which I had the good fortune to attend. I hope I report his information accurately.

The first modern find of dinosaur remains in Georgia was in 1979 by Dr. Schwimmer. Previous finds reported from the 19th Century are unconfirmed. In Georgia today, dinosaur remains are only found from the Late Cretaceous Period (approximately 69 to 87 million years ago). These dinosaur remains are found in marine, river, and estuarine deposits. The dinosaurs were washed out to sea from the shore and river. As the bloated carcasses washed out to sea, sharks attacked the bodies. At this time, only head, tail, limb parts have been found. According to Dr. Schwimmer, the core of the body went elsewhere. He usually finds single bones once every three or four months.

These locations are believed to be what was once a river mouth during the Cretaceous Period. Today they are found in the Chattahoochee River Valley, in West Georgia and East Alabama just south of the Fall Line. No dry land deposits of dinosaur bones have been found in Georgia.

At this time only three dinosaurs are known from the Cretaceous age deposits. The three dinosaurs known are:

• Hadrosauridae - Full size, approximately 25 feet long
• Ornithromimdae - Of unknown species
• Gorgosaurus- A theropod found only in juvenile size. They weighed about 800 pounds and never reached full size.

The largest predator in this coastal food chain was a crocodile called Dinosuchus. At full size, this animal weighed nine tons and averaged 25 feet in length. The largest grew to almost 36 feet in length. This crocodile could eat whatever it wanted.