Utah Geological Survey

KANSAS FOSSIL HUNTERS THINK MONTANA FIND COULD BE A FIRST

billingsgazette.com

Two Kansas fossil hunters say they think they found something new while digging in Montana.

Jim Kirkland, a state paleontologist at the Utah Geological Survey, has examined photos of the fossil that Robert and Alan Detrich are uncovering and said it looks like a new type of ankylosaur. The low-slung heavily armored dinosaurs lived around 65 million years ago and munched on plants.

“This thing is worthy of note. There is no doubt about it,” said Kirkland, who specializes in ankylosaurs. “In my mind it’s clearly a new one.”

The brothers have been digging since May in a fossil-rich area near the town of Jordan. They’ve uncovered the ankylosaur fossil’s skull, part of its leg, ribs, armored plates and some vertebrae.

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Utah Geological Survey

YOUNG DINOSAUR FOUND AT BURPEE'S UTAH DIG SITE NICKNAMED JIMMY

rrstar.com

Burpee Museum of Natural History staff and volunteers have had a successful season of digging at the Hanksville-Burpee Quarry in Utah, uncovering new finds officials say could be integrated into the museum by 2013.

The museum wrapped up its most recent work at the quarry site with Rockford resident Joe Mongan discovering an upper leg bone to a juvenile diplodocus, which gave him the opportunity to nickname the dinosaur — called Jimmy, in honor of his father — said Burpee Executive Director Alan Brown.

Dr. James Kirkland, a state paleontologist at the Utah Geological Survey, said the finding will guide researchers to better understand life 35 million to 65 million years ago.

Much to learn from fossil
“The fossil record is our only record of the history of life on our planet,” he said. “We’re exploring the age of dinosaurs. They’re collecting some trophy dinosaurs that will be exhibited, and at the same time they’re collecting data to understand why the dinosaurs were there. Until you understand what controlled the formation of the site, you can’t even come to a conclusion of what kind of questions the site can answer about the geological record. This is the only way we get to understand the effects on life on a global scale.”

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Utah Geological Survey

NORTH SALT LAKE RESIDENTS RALLY TO HELP LANDSLIDE VICTIMS

sltrib.com

Insurance companies have given no help to some North Salt Lake residents whose homes are being destroyed by a slow-moving landslide. Nor has the federal government. But their neighbors did on Saturday — rallying with a community breakfast and fun run to raise money to help.

“I’m glad somebody — somebody — is helping. We need it,” said Stefanie Christiansen, whose home is being torn apart slowly. She, like many of her neighbors on Springhill Circle and Springhill Drive, were among the volunteer cooks and servers Saturday during the breakfast at Foxboro Regional Park.

As she was helping serve hot pancakes to neighbors paying $5 each, she said, “We really appreciate what people are doing for us. It means a lot.”

She said she and her husband bought their house on Springhill Drive in the foothills 15 years ago.

“Then in 1998, we had some movement from the landslide. Then it was fine for a lot of years,” she said. But more recently, it started moving again — about an inch a year — cracking foundations and walls, and tearing apart homes.

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