Dinosaur National Monument has regrettably become another site of vandalism as a park ranger discovered damage to a sauropod’s fossilized humerus bone last Tuesday. Park rangers are offering a reward for information about the incident. If you have information, please call 435-781-7715.
sltrib.com
Park rangers are offering a reward for information about whoever damaged a fossil at Dinosaur National Monument.
www.thestar.com
Researchers studying the remains of an enormous dinosaur — a creature that was bigger than seven bull elephants — have given it an equally colossal name: Dreadnoughtus, or “fearing nothing.”
fox13now.com
The first dinosaur remains in Utah were discovered 155 years ago, but because of the difficult terrain the dinosaur had never been fully excavated. But crews are now working to complete the excavation.
moabsunnews.com
“Researchers with the Utah Geological Survey have correlated, or matched up, the unit to another outcrop to the east, and were able to obtain a zircon date of about 112 million years in age.”
— Rebecca Hunt-Foster
Paleontologists from the University of Colorado and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have been excavating a location north of Moab for the past year. The site contains over 200 tracks left by dinosaurs over a 125 million years ago.
Looking to see some dinosaurs yourself? Check out this dino-read for you from deseretnews.com!
Where to see dinosaurs in Utah
Although dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago, they remain alive in people’s imaginations — particularly children’s.
Sometimes a desk is just “The Great Outdoors.”
upenn.edu
Like a lot of little kids, Tanner Frank went through a “dinosaur phase.” Unlike most, however, he says, “I never grew out of it.”
The Utah Geological Survey’s paleontology program has just complete a month of excavation at our Doelling’s Bowl dinosaur site in eastern Utah. This site is in the early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation. The previous 3 seasons were spent excavating a sauropod (long-necked) dinosaur skeleton from an animal that had become mired in mud. While excavating this skeleton we discovered a lower layer that has a concentration of bones belonging primarily to a number of iguanodontid dinosaurs (plant eaters related to duck-billed dinosaurs). It is likely that these bones belong to a new species of iguanodontid and the bones collected this summer, including all of the bones of the pelvis, will help us to determine this by comparing them to those of other species of iguanodontids from this time period. Helping us in our excavations were a number of students and volunteers from the Utah Friends of Paleontology (UFOP).
UGS paleontologists, students, and UFOP volunteers excavate at the Doelling’s Bowl dinosaur site.
Paleontology volunteer Sue Marsland of Canada instructs young paleontology enthusiasts from England on how to make a plaster jacket to protect dinosaur bones during a visit to the excavation at Doelling’s Bowl.
UFOP volunteer and budding young paleontologist Ethan Cowgill of Salt Lake City spent 2 weeks assisting UGS paleontologists at Doelling’s Bowl. Here he removes rock in order to collect a dinosaur rib and shoulder blade.
An iguanodontid scapula (shoulder blade) sits above an unidentified bone that appears to have been damaged, possibly by trampling, before burial. The paintbrush is 2 inches wide.
A 4-inch-long tooth of a meat-eating dinosaur (theropod) in place at Doelling’s Bowl. Only teeth have so far been discovered from this dinosaur that is almost certainly from a new species of large carnivorous dinosaur.
ksl.com
The public will soon have a chance to see an extraordinary set of footprints left behind by dinosaurs 125 million years ago.
nps.gov
Colorado/Utah –Ben Otoo and Nicole Ridgwell are spending the summer living a dream as they scramble and climb among the remains of the long dead. These young paleontologists are photographing and mapping the world famous deposit of ancient bones at Dinosaur National Monument. Their work is part of a multi-institutional effort to bring together the vast historical and scientific information about this great dinosaur quarry and ultimately make it available on-line to both scientists andthe public. With over 1500 dinosaur bones to document, and each bone needing multiple photographs to show all the anatomical details, plus converting several large historic quarry maps with drawings of thousands of bones needing into electronic files, it is a busy, but satisfying season.
latimes.com
Scott Richardson is up at dawn, standing atop a rocky ridgeline near his base camp, a solitary figure in the slanting light. He surveys a primordial wilderness of dry creek beds and stands of juniper and pinyon pine.
Who knew paleontology could be so cute.
huffingtonpost.com
Tiny tracks found in Colorado are so small that they could belong to a kitten. But these footprints actually belong to baby stegosaurs — the only such tracks ever found.
The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) is a division of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Several specialized programs comprise the UGS: Data Management, Energy & Minerals, Geologic Hazards, Geologic Information & Outreach, Geologic Mapping, Groundwater & Wetlands, and Paleontology.
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