page_title: James A. Jensen
section_title: Kronosaurus queenslandicus
hierarchical_section_title: James A. Jensen / Harvard University 1956 to 1961 / Kronosaurus queenslandicus
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Kronosaurus queenslandicus as it is mounted today, in its place before the glass was added to protect it. The mount was done in 1957 at Harvard by Dr. Romer, Arnie Lewis and my dad. Dad took this photo and bequeathed it to me in his will. I am the sole owner of this image and I wish to make it available to anyone anywhere for their use, and place no restrictions on its use. There is no one else who has an interest in this image. Doctorjrj 22:02, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
context_page_description: James Alvin Jensen, was an American paleontologist. His extensive collecting program at Brigham Young University in the Utah-Colorado region which spanned 23 years was comparable in terms of the number of specimens collected to that of Barnum Brown during the early 20th century. He was given the name "Dinosaur Jim" during the media coverage of his activities. Perhaps his most significant contribution to paleontology was to replace the 19th-century web of external metal struts, straps and posts that had been used to mount dinosaurs with a system of supports which were placed inside of bones, which produced free-standing skeletons with few or no obvious supports.
  He is credited with naming and describing Supersaurus and Torvosaurus.
context_section_description: In 1956, Romer decided to mount a Kronosaurus queenslandicus skeleton and had to obtain an unusually large amount of money to do the job. This was because the weight of the final mount was estimated to exceed the carrying capacity of the floor on which it would rest, due to the large amount of steel that would be used in preparing the mount. Therefore, architects drafted plans for a large I-beam to span the entire width of the building. Then two large holes were opened in the external walls and permanent mounts were created on each wall to hold the beam. Cranes then raised and inserted the beam into the holes so that it spanned the entire floor and was then secured to the two mounts. Romer Lewis and Jensen decided how to mount Kronosaurus. Jensen had plans showing how to mount a dinosaur without visible supports, plans which relied on his talents as an artist, sculptor, house framer, machinist and welder. Romer gave his approval to attempt a free standing mount. The plans were modified to suit the actual skeleton and Kronosaurus became the first mount done anywhere without visible structural members.  All supporting bars, beams and sheets of metal and wood were integrated into or behind the bones. In addition to the unique method of concealing structural elements, Jensen used a curved back wall that had no corners to create the  trompe d'oeil effect of a floating skeleton. There were no corners, vertical walls, or lines which would create the impression that the Kronosaurus was standing on the floor.
caption: Kronosaurus queenslandicus before glass was added to exhibit. 1957-8
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