In The NoCo

Some dinosaurs were dancing 100 million years ago. A scientist explains why a site in Colorado was so popular

By In The NoCo,

Published August 5, 2025 at 5:40 AM MDT

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Paleontologist Amy Atwater, a woman wearing a black shirt and brown cardigan, smiles as she holds up a dinosaur skull. — Paleontologist Amy Atwater says Dinosaur Ridge shows evidence of one of the largest lek sites — a place where dinosaurs would dance and leave scratch marks behind. Dozens of marks resemble bowl shapes in the rock at the paleontological site.

Scientists say they’ve identified a sort of massive dance floor that some dinosaurs used as part of their mating rituals millions of years ago.

The area is at Dinosaur Ridge, an active paleontology site in Morrison that’s also open to the public. Researchers there found dozens of places where a dinosaur species called Magnoavipes would scrape patterns into the rock – a telltale sign of the creatures’ unique mating rituals.

So, what does this discovery tell us about how dinosaurs lived 100 million years ago in what’s now Colorado? And what does it reveal about dinosaurs’ similarities to modern species like birds?

To better understand those dinosaur dance parties, Erin O’Toole talked with Amy Atwater, the Director of Paleontology at Dinosaur Ridge.

1 of 3 — Scrapes 1to8_Blender.jpg

Courtesy Dr Caldwell Buntin

A broad view of a rock face shows scrapes in the rock. Bushes and plants growing out of cracks and a sign sits on the ground in the lower left corner.

2 of 3 — Surface Overview_ 1 (1).jpg

Courtesy Dr Caldwell Buntin

A series of frames show the depth of scrape patterns using color coding.

3 of 3 — Panel.png

Courtesy Dr Caldwell Buntin

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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