ISU researcher discovers first dinosaur burrow in Idaho, second in North America

BOISE, Idaho (CBS 2) — An Idaho State University researcher discovered the first dinosaur burrow in Idaho, which is the second in North America, and the third discovered in the world.

A burrow is used by animals for protection, to live in, and raise their young.

ISU said this burrow was from the dinosaur Oryctodromeus, Idaho's most common dinosaur. These dinosaurs had a similar appearance to the modern Great Dane, only 11 feet long with a 7-foot tail, and 2-1/2 feet high at the hips.

Researcher L.J. Krumenacker was helping to teach a field course for future paleontologists when he found some bones. He said he was poking around where the lecture was taking place.

He later excavated the site and found a skeleton, which was at the lowest end of the burrow.

“I think this is pretty awesome,” Krumenacker said. “It is an incredible animal and it shows the potential for future discoveries in Idaho. A lot of where I’ve been looking has never been looked at before and I expect there is a lot of Idaho dinosaur discoveries left to find.”

The burrow was found in the Caribou Range in the Soda Springs area.

Although the dinosaur that he found was the only one in this burrow, he said these were used to raise offspring.

“We know this because other specimens have been found where adult and young Oryctodromeus are in the same burrow,” Krumenacker said. “Burrows were a good place to raise kids and a safe place to go to not get eaten by other dinosaurs. At this time Idaho was hot and very wet, so it was also a good place to get out of the weather.”

Krumenacker is the principal author of a paper that covers the Oryctodromeus and their burrowing origins.

ISU said, among other topics, the paper shows evidence that these burrowing dinosaurs raised their young, that adults lived together in family units in burrows and that these dinosaurs may have lived in colonies similar to modern burrowing animals like ground-hogs.