Dinosaurs in South Hadley
Summary
Back in 1910 a girl named Mignon Talbot was out climbing a hill in the Pioneer Valley, (in Western Massachusetts) with her sister. That now famous hill is in my hometown of South Hadley. This dinosaur is rare because no one has heard of this type of dinosaur. Like what it looks like, and what it does when fighting with its predators.
On the hill was a quarry, and she explored where there was a big boulder. She went down and noticed that it is a full set of real life dinosaur bones! It is super hard to find those in the Pioneer Valley because of the wet conditions, so she was so stoked. According to “Uncovering Dinosaur History at Mount Holyoke College” on NEPM.org, Mignon Talbot discovered dinosaur bones! And she named the dinosaur Podokesaurus Holyokensis, (which means swift-footed lizard of Holyoke which is a city just south of us.) Dinosaur fossils are rare to find out of the whole world it could be in.
I’m very excited to even hear about this in my hometown. Now I'm wondering if I can find any dinosaur fossils like this.
Sometimes I even wonder how big the biggest dinosaur track ever found in South Hadley is? Between 66 to 245 million years ago there were more than 700 species of dinosaurs in the world. Fun Fact: Did you know that one of the biggest dinosaurs is an Argentinosaurus. It has a 29 foot long neck, a long neck dinosaur.
The reason I like dinosaurs so much is because my family loves it so much, that after school or work we watch Jurassic Park and put on our dinosaur pajamas! And I know you might be thinking why do you watch the same movie over and over? Well I don't, I usually just watch different dinosaur movies, or sometimes listen to podcasts.
I don't think many people across the country, or even Massachusetts, realize the rich dinosaur history there is in Western Mass - thanks for shining the spotlight on it!