nationalgeographic.com
Two tiny wings entombed in amber reveal that plumage (the layering, patterning, coloring, and arrangement of feathers) seen in birds today already existed in at least some of their predecessors nearly a hundred million years ago.
smithsonianmag.com
You can’t find a fossil without breaking a few rocks. In the case of a tiny crocodile called Hoplosuchus, that involved some dynamite.
smithsonianmag.com
About 65 million years ago the Cretaceous era came to a dramatic end when a huge asteroid slammed into the Earth and likely jump started the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. In the wake of such devastation, plucky mammals in their underground burrows survived and eventually rose to the prominence they enjoy today.
ecprogress.com
The Bureau of Land Management Price Field Office is offering a special opportunity for young scientists and their families to interact with professional paleontologists at work in the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry.
smithsonianmag.com
news.nationalgeographic.com
Imagine sunrise on the last day of the Mesozoic era, 66 million years ago. Shafts of sunlight rake through the swamps and coniferous forests along the coast of what is now Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The blood-warm seas of the Gulf of Mexico teem with life.
inverse.com
Late last month, a nearly complete mounted Stegosaurus skeleton was put up for auction in Germany. The piece was a showstopper, valued at $2.7 million and described as the most complete skeleton of its species ever assembled. And even then, there was more, because the fossils showed battle wounds proving the beast had used its tail to successfully defend itself against a predator. Not only was this a Stegosaurus, it was a battle-hardened one.
huffingtonpost.com
Long-necked Sauropods, like Brontosaurus, were the largest animals on earth, but their brain, not their leg strength, is what kept them from getting any bigger.
blogs.plos.org
When it comes to absolutely amazing paleontological resources, Utah arguably reigns supreme within the United States (I may be a bit biased). And with the upcoming Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting taking place in Salt Lake City, paleontologists and paleo enthusiasts will be flocking to the Beehive State to discuss and share the latest breakthroughs in the field. To those coming to the meeting this October, one thing I cannot stress enough: do not miss what Utah has to offer in terms of spectacular fossil sites and museums. It will be difficult to avoid, as the SVP host committee this year is offering up eleven (eleven!!!) field trips to different parts of the state to see everything from the Triassic-Jurassic transition to Mesozoic dinosaurs to Eocene fishes to Pleistocene shorelines, and more.
smithsonianmag.com
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.
1594 West North Temple, Suite 3110
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
801-537-3300 (phone)
801-537-3400 (fax)
Mailing Address:
PO BOX 146100
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
