| F. Joseph Bell, Orange County Dinosaur Hunter, Invites You To Join The Safari, View The Fossils, Learn The History And Explore The Dinosaur Country Of Orange County! The Museum Chronicles The One Hundred And Forty Year Search For Fossils In Orange County And Bell's Twenty Year Search For The Mysterious Lost Dinosaur Of Irvine Ranch. CALIFORNIA'S FIRST DINOSAUR! The FIRST DINOSAUR EVER FOUND On The West Coast Of North America, CALIFORNIA'S SURPRISE DINOSAUR DISCOVERY! Found In The Farmlands Of 1927 Orange County, California. THEN LOST! |
| MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY: Dinosaurs Were Not Supposed To Have Existed In Southern California, But In 1927, They Were Discovered By Accident, Then Lost For 79 Years! Fossils From Dinosaurs Are Found Right Here In Orange County, California. A Fossilized Dinosaur Bone Could Turn Up Just About Anywhere From Dana Point To Palos Verdes, Santa Ana Canyon To Oceanside! |
 | First Dinosaur Fossil Ever Found in California! | |
| A Herd Animal, Never Found Alone, There Must Be Others. | |
| Distinctive Rare Teeth, Reveal Wear From Chewing O.C. Plants. | |
| A 250 page illustrated book: "DINOSAUR IN MY BACKYARD" is currently being written by F Joseph Bell and it will be made available here soon. |
| ORANGE COUNTY DINOSAUR |
| MYSTERIOUS LOST DINOSAUR Eluded Paleontologists For 67 Thousand Millenniums, Found By Accident In 1927... Then Lost For 79 Years! |
| ORANGE COUNTY DINOSAUR MUSEUM WELCOMES YOU! |
| AMAZING DINOSAUR DISCOVERY IN ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA in 1927 : DINOSAURS LIVED HERE! |
 |
 |  |  |
| Close up view of hadrosaur dinosaur teeth from the side revealing distinctive ridges much like horse's teeth. |
| OUR MOUNTAIN, OUR LEGACY: FOSSILS UNDERFOOT Orange County'ans live and work at the base of a large, ancient volcanic mountain that emerged 100 Million Years Ago uplifting deeply buried strata (rock layers) that preserve a vast span of time, over 190 million years. These sediment layers are filled with mysterious, little known life forms that became recorded in the rocks as fossils. This "fossil" information surrounds us in eroding hills, road sides, mountains, and valleys. It is recorded in the rocks and sediments readily observable on the surface throughout the County. Rocks and sediments that support us literally under our feet! CALIFORNIA'S FIRST DINOSAUR WAS FOUND BY A STUDENT FOSSIL HUNTER: Many important, science altering fossils have been discovered only after being spotted by and theorized over by an amateur. Orange County has a rich history stretching back to the early 1800's in which amateur paleontologists and fossil hunters brought important fossils to scientific study. THE IRVINE RANCH DINOSAUR OF 1927: A fine example of amateur fossil discovery took place in Orange County, California 80 years ago that is scientifically significant. The fossil was found on Irvine Ranch by an unaware 20 year old geology student studying fault structure, looking for a possible oil prospect on the Irvine Company property in 1927. (F. Joseph Bell chronicles this story as well as his own in a 200 page book "Dinosaur In My Backyard".) FOSSIL HUNTING ORANGE COUNTY: Alert fossil "reporters" may bring about the discovery of another dinosaur, possibly a huge meat eating predator, like T-Rex. Yes, we had them here! Right in our own Orange County, California! Fossils are a widespread commodity openly available to the public that contain important, never seen before facts. Amateur fossil hunters are constantly on the prowl discovering never before seen specimens from backyards to beaches. MARION BRANDVOLD'S IDEA CHANGED SCIENCE: Marion Brandvold of Bynum, Montana is an amateur fossil hunter whose ideas on dinosaurs are featured prominently in the museum. Marion found dozens of tiny leg and back bone fossils grouped together under larger leg and back bone fossils of the same shape. She instantly realized that what she was observing was a nest of babies overlain by a mother dinosaur that was attempting to protect them from danger. This was the first discovery of baby dinosaur bones in a 4 ft. Round dinosaur nest... And it included the mother! Prior to this discovery science contended that dinosaurs were aloof, cold hearted "lizards" that laid eggs and left their babies to hatch and survive on their own. The implication that a mother dinosaur risked death to save her hatchlings challenged science's limited understanding of hadrosaur nature. Marion viewed the animals more "horselike". Some "Yale" paleontologists were trying to make hadrosaurs "birdlike" in the early 1980's. Marion's find went against both "bird" and "lizard" dinosaur nature proponents. Paleontologists slowly conceded only after years of harsh resistance to Marion's ideas. Marion referred to them as "whippersnappers" who couldn't tell a fossil from a rock! The sharp instincts and impressions learned in the field by this amateur fossil hunter have greatly enriched the World's knowledge of dinosaur behavior. |
| HADROSAURS = GIANT AGILE HORSES? 14 FT. TALL, 3 TONS, 35 FEET LONG, HUGE 3 1/2 FT. HEAD AND MOUTH, MASSIVE 11 FT. LONG LEGS WITH TOES AND FEET EACH OVER 3 FEET WIDE, HOOFED GIANT, HORSELIKE IRVINE RANCH DINOSAUR, DISTINCTIVE 70 MILLION YEAR OLD TEETH AND BONES FOUND BY ACCIDENT IN 1927! NEW DISCOVERIES IN RUSSIA, UTAH AND NEW MEXICO ARE SUGGESTING THESE DINOSAURS WERE LESS BIRD OR LIZARD LIKE AND MORE HORSE LIKE! |
CALIFORNIA DINOSAUR DISCOVERY: More Dinosaurs Will Be Discovered In California. At least seven new specimens are under diagnosis and research. Chances of finding a new dinosaur species is good here in Orange County. There were more species alive (ninety percent more) during the late "cretaceous period", (the time frame of the exposed Orange County hadrosaur dinosaur era rock formations) than there are alive now due to the extinction event of 65 million years ago! FOSSIL HUNTING TECHNIQUES: High tech locating, recording and preserving of fossil finds does not disturb the fossil or the site. Like Geocache trekking, it allows specialists and amateurs alike to find sites, see fossils and look for more. This method utilizes satellite technology and digital photography, making the "find" easily re-located. Fossils need not ever again be lost in obscurity ("field lost"), like our 1927 Irvine Ranch Dinosaur). |
| Welcome Visitor! The Dinosaur Discovered On Irvine Ranch In 1927 Took Science By Surprise, Unrecognised For Forty Years, LOST For Almost Eighty, Finally After 19 Years Of Searching It Was Found In 2006! We Encourage Children, Parents And Teachers To Learn About And Contribute To The Knowledge Of Our Past History. |
CIT 592