This fall, something truly special is coming to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles—a giant, green dinosaur named Gnatalie! She’s not just any dinosaur—Gnatalie is the first green-colored fossil ever discovered and the most complete long-necked dinosaur skeleton on the West Coast. Plus, you can visit her for free!
Gnatalie is a sauropod, a type of dinosaur known for its super long neck. She’s a whopping 75 feet long, which means she’s longer than three school buses! But what makes Gnatalie really unique is her green bones. While most dinosaur fossils are brown or gray, Gnatalie’s bones turned green because of a rare mineral called celadonite. This happened during her fossilization, making her the only green dinosaur skeleton in the world!
Gnatalie was discovered in Southeast Utah in 2007 by a team of researchers from the Dinosaur Institute, led by Dr. Luis Chiappe. After years of careful digging and putting her bones together, Gnatalie is finally ready to meet the world. The people of Los Angeles even helped pick her name in 2024. She’s called Gnatalie because the team had to deal with pesky gnats during their excavation.
This exhibit marks a significant moment for both science and the public, as Gnatalie brings a piece of ancient history to life in a way never seen before. As Dr. Chiappe emphasizes, “Dinosaurs are a great vehicle for teaching our visitors about the nature of science, and what better than a green, more than 75-foot-long dinosaur to engage them in the process of scientific discovery?”
Visitors to the museum this fall will have the chance to marvel at Gnatalie, the newest wonder of Los Angeles. Whether you're a local or visiting from afar, this one-of-a-kind fossil promises to leave a lasting impression.
