Photos: Working fingers to the bone in dinosaur country

Richardson says of his work: “To expose bones that haven’t seen the light of the sun for 80 million years is just pretty incredible.”   (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

Most of the time, Richardson trudges among the scrub brush, always vigilant, searching for a hint -- a different color, texture or shape -- that suggests a dinosaur’s grave might lie somewhere beneath.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

Scott Richardson examines fossils in a lab in Kanab, Utah.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

He has unearthed four new dinosaur species. Kosmoceratops richardsoni was named after him.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

“These were colossal creatures that ruled the planet for millions of years,” Richardson says of the dinosaurs.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

Fossils await cleaning in the lab. They will then be reassembled.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

Richardson works six months a year in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. He leads his life mostly out under the stars, sleeping in an old trailer, in a tent or out in the open.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)