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Entry 102Filed under Breeding

A Morrison Formation Stegosaurid Sets a Forelimb Record—But How Big Was It?

A 2026 study reports exceptionally long humeri for Utah stegosaurid fossil FHPR 1095, while carefully limiting claims about its size relative to sauropods.
3-minute read By Animalso Team
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A pair of unusually long upper-arm bones puts fossil specimen FHPR 1095 at the top of a 2026 study’s comparison of Morrison Formation stegosaurs. Its humeri measure 740 millimeters on the left and 700 millimeters on the right. The authors say the specimen’s body-size dimensions may have overlapped with those of some subadult sauropods—but the fossils do not show that this stegosaur matched a sauropod in total length or weight.

What dinosaur is FHPR 1095?

FHPR 1095 is an indeterminate stegosaurid from Utah’s Morrison Formation. That means its preserved bones support identifying it as a member of the stegosaur family, but not assigning it confidently to a particular genus or species. The 2026 study by ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster, D. Cary Woodruff, Steven D. Sroka, and John R. Foster describes the specimen as the largest reported Morrison Formation stegosaurid based on humerus and radius lengths. Read the study in New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 102.

The fossil was collected in October 1950 at Steinaker Draw, north of Vernal in Uintah County, Utah. The study places it in the lower to middle Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, a rock unit dating to the Upper Jurassic.

Which bones make it a record-setting stegosaurid?

The standout measurements are the two humeri—the upper-arm bones connecting the shoulder to the forearm. The left humerus is 740 millimeters long, and the right is 700 millimeters. Their average, 720 millimeters, exceeds the 680-millimeter humerus of the next-longest Morrison stegosaurid in the study’s comparison. For context within that same comparison, Morrison Formation stegosaur humeri averaged approximately 491 millimeters.

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FHPR 1095 bone or comparison Length
Left humerus 740 mm
Right humerus 700 mm
Average of the two humeri 720 mm
Next-longest Morrison stegosaurid humerus listed in the study 680 mm
Approximate mean humerus length among Morrison stegosaur specimens compared in the study 491 mm
Right ulna 560 mm
Right radius 490 mm

These are measurements of individual fossil bones, and the averages and comparisons are those reported for the specimens considered in the paper—not population-wide estimates. Humerus length is not a measurement of the whole animal. The robust humeri also have prominent deltopectoral crests, prominent projections that served as muscle-attachment areas.

Does it really rival a sauropod?

The paper’s abstract says FHPR 1095 suggests stegosaurids grew larger than previously realized and “began overlapping in body size dimensionality with some ‘subadult’ sauropods.” The qualification matters: the authors describe overlap in dimensions with some subadult sauropods, not equality with the largest sauropods. The study does not give FHPR 1095 a direct total-body-length or mass measurement, so its limb-bone record cannot establish that it was as long or heavy as a sauropod.

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What remains of the animal—and what is uncertain?

FHPR 1095 preserves parts of both forelimbs, including both humeri, a right radius and ulna, carpals, metacarpal material, and a phalanx. The study also describes part of a left coracoid and a fused scapula fragment. That combination supports the family-level identification, but the available remains are incomplete and do not establish a more precise classification.

The specimen is associated with the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. The paper notes that parts of the displayed forelimb are modeled; the two carpals, metacarpal IV, and its phalanx are original material. The full displayed hand should not be mistaken for an entirely fossil-bone reconstruction.

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Why was a bone once identified as sauropod material?

In a January 30, 2026 Daily Galaxy report, paleontologist ReBecca Hunt-Foster said, “Most of the bones seem to have been correctly identified originally (although one was thought to be a sauropod).” She suggested, “It may be that the curator at that time was a geologist and simply hadn’t looked at a lot of stegosaurs.” That is Hunt-Foster’s proposed explanation, not a documented certainty about the former curator.

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