The dinosaurs Zelda and Zara
Zelda and Zara are Norway's first complete real dinosaur skeletons. The two skeletons of the duck-billed dinosaur Hypacrosaurus stebingeri are on display in the Evolution of Life exhibit.
Lived 75 million years ago
The dinosaurs, nicknamed Zelda and Zara, lived in North America 75 million years ago, at the end of the age of dinosaurs. They were Hypacrosaurus, a large plant-eater of the duck-billed type (hadrosaur) that walked on both two and four legs. The dinosaur group is named after the broad beak they had as a snout. Determining the sex of dinosaur skeletons is difficult, if not impossible. We have chosen to give them female names for the sake of gender equality: the other two dinosaur skeletons in the same exhibit are named Roar and Stan.
The dinosaurs were found in Montana, USA, and have been prepared and assembled in Italy. Approximately 70 percent of the skeletons are original, while the rest have been reconstructed from other individuals.
Mother and daughter?
Paleontologists first found the adult skeleton, Zelda. During the excavation of this one, paleontologists discovered a smaller individual lying together with the large skeleton. It turned out to be a young dinosaur of the same species. This was an unusual find. The species is already known to have had nesting colonies in several places in North America. Paleontologists assume the children were fed in the nest since skeletons of small Hypacrosaurus children have been found in the nests with wear on their teeth. Could Zelda and Zara be mother and daughter?
The skeletons were purchased by the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.
Facts about the skeleton Zelda
- Type: Hypacrosaurus stebingeri
- Length: 7,5 metres
- Found: Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier County, Montana, USA
- Geological formation: Two Medicine Formation
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Age: Late Cretaceous (80-74 million years ago)
