How Did the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry Get Its Name?

After having published an article on a new theory explaining the mass death dinosaur assemblage preserved at the Cleveland-Lloyd fossil site in the Morrison Formation (Brushy Basin Member), we were sent an email asking how the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry got its name if the site is a long way from Cleveland, Ohio?

The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

It is true, the fossil site, which represents the greatest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils known to science, is a very long way from the city of Cleveland, but it is near the small town of Cleveland, Emery County, in Utah.  This famous fossil site was named in part, as it was close to the town of Cleveland.  The second part of the hyphenated name “Lloyd” is all to do with funding,

Map Showing Sites, Stratigraphic Section Line, and Regional Stratigraphy in Context of the San Rafael Swell

Map showing sites, stratigraphic section line, and regional stratigraphy in context of the San Rafael Swell.

Picture credit: PeerJ

In the picture above CLDQ marks the location of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and JONS indicates the location of the nearby Johnsonville fossil site in Utah.  The inset map shows the location of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in relation to the rest of the state of Utah.

To read the article: The Mystery of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry.

Where Did the Lloyd Part of the Name Come From?

The site was first discovered in 1927, the first extensive excavations commenced in 1929, (University of Utah).  The siltstones were deposited in the Late Jurassic and the strata makes up part of the Brushy Basin Member at the northern end of the San Rafael Swell.  For the next decade, regular expeditions to the site were undertaken and these were funded, in the most part, by a lawyer from Philadelphia called Malcolm Lloyd.  This is how the famous dinosaur dig site came to be named.

The quarry is world-famous for its very high concentration of dinosaur bones.  The scattered remains of over seventy dinosaurs are believed to be present, representing nine dinosaur genera.  However, around two-thirds of all the bones are attributable to a single dinosaur taxon Allosaurus fragilis.  Most of the other bonebeds associated with the Morrison Formation contain a higher proportion of herbivorous dinosaurs. Furthermore, when the A. fragilis material is assessed over 85% of the fossils represent juveniles or sub-adults of the species.

Further exploration of this extremely fossil rich location is planned.

So, the site with the greatest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur bones known to science was named after a lawyer from Philadelphia and the nearest township.

Allosaurus

A Model of Allosaurus a Dinosaur Associated with the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

The new for 2017 Schleich Allosaurus dinosaur model.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Visit the Schleich section of the Everything Dinosaur website: Schleich Dinosaur Toys.

The picture shows a Schleich Allosaurus model (2017).

To visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.