Sarah / Sophie — The Stegosaurus

In July 2004, at a DinoSafaris private quarry near Shell, Wyoming, under the direction of Bob Simon, a partial Stegosaurus skeleton was excavated from hard Morrison Formation matrix. The genus was confirmed in the field by the exposure of its tail spikes — the thagomizer.

The two-week dig covered excavation, stabilization, mapping, and jacketing, carried out in mountainous terrain under hot, dry conditions, with the crew housed in a log cabin. Work on site included direct excavation and stabilization, mapping assistance, photographic documentation, and public educational explanation at the quarry.

Known in the field as “Sarah,” this is the same animal later prepared and displayed at the Natural History Museum, London as “Sophie” — one of the most complete Stegosaurus specimens known to science. One animal, two names.

Provenance note: there is a single Stegosaurus here — Sarah (field name) = Sophie (museum name). “Sundance” refers to the Sundance Formation, not a second animal.