Old Rock Day – January 7

This day is set aside (though no one knows how long it has been observed or when it was first celebrated), to consider how old the Earth is and how it has shaped our lives. It’s also a shout-out to some of the earliest geologists like the Theophrathes, Pliny the Elder, Ulisse Aldovandi, James Hutton and William Smith.

National Jewel Day – March 13

This special day is set aside to appreciate precious stones and jewelry. From the earliest examples of stone, bone, and shell jewelry, to the most lavish and intricate designs of today, National Jewel Day is meant to recognize them all. Those who choose to participate are encouraged to wear their most spectacular bejeweled pieces and take the occasion to gift jewelry to those important people in their life.

Geologists Day – April 7

This day is dedicated to those folks who make it their life’s work to explore, research and disseminate their knowledge of rocks and Earth’s history. It is also the time to appreciate all of those things in our lives that we have or know because of geologists. This includes such daily used items as toothpaste and even cell phones. Younger folks contemplating a career in geology can take this opportunity to discuss with practitioners in the field, what the job is actually like.

Earth Day – April 22

You can’t get any “Earthier” than rocks, gems and minerals. This is a day for rockhounds to explore and to appreciate Earth’s treasures.

Nickel Day – May 16

Devoted to the mined element, nickel, this day was created to acknowledge this important metal. Nickel has been used by humans for at least 2,000 years. By the middle of the 19th century, it was ubiquitous in American coinage as well as that of other European nations.

Dinosaur Days – May 15 & June 1

Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, but they’re top of mind today. So much is still unknown about these fascinating creatures. Celebrate what we know and anticipate what we don’t on this fun day for young and old alike.

National Caves & Karst Day – June 6

This day is dedicated to the majesty and importance of these amazing rock formations. Most people know what caves are, but few are familiar with “karst” landscapes. A karst landscape is characterized by rocky hills, aquifers, springs, sinkholes and caves. Hundreds of different minerals and gems are found in caves, and 40 percent of drinking water in the U.S. comes from karst aquifers.

World Oceans Day – June 8

Beach finds from shells to rocks, minerals and sea glass are a favorite. Celebrate the oceans that bring us this bounty.

International Drop a Rock Day – July 3

This a day for having a bit of fun while inspiring kindness toward others. Across the world, individuals, families, and groups of all types get creative and paint rocks with pictures, themed messages, or even advertising and hide them. Anyone can try to find them. When they are found, the lucky holder of that rock can keep it, hide it again, or if it is part of a local promotion, contact the sponsoring group. This highly popular activity is not restricted to International Drop a Rock Day; many groups do this throughout the year and hold rock-painting parties before going out and hiding them.

International Rock Day – July 13

Sometimes referred to as World Rock Day, this day is intended to celebrate and to contemplate the importance of rocks to humankind. It is to honor the rock as one of the most fundamental aspects of human survival. If there is one day per year to give rocks their due, this is it!

National Pet Rock Day – September 1

This tongue-in-cheek holiday is dedicated to the 1975 marketing scheme that led to the sale of over one million pet rocks. On this day, many people “adopt” a pet rock at functions planned to celebrate this phenomenon.

Collect Rocks Day – September 16

Held since 2015, Collect Rocks Day celebrates all of the diverse types of rocks and all of the different places they can be collected, no matter where in the world you live. It is a celebration of Earth and geology for everyone.

National Fossil Day – October 16

As the name implies, this day is reserved for appreciating and exploring fossils. Of the approximately 250,000 different fossilized species that have been identified, it is estimated there are millions more to be found. Many groups organize fossil hunts and expeditions on this day in early fall. Be sure to find one near you.

This story about rockhound holidays appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Original story by Chris Bond. Updated yearly to reflect current dates and holidays. 

The post 2024 Rockhound Holidays first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

San Diego Natural History Museum

At the famous Balboa Park in San Diego, just south of the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society & Museum, is the San Diego Natural History Museum — or the “Nat” as the locals call it. The San Diego Natural History Museum is one of the most significant natural history museums in the country.

The San Diego Society of Natural History dates to 1874. In 1917, the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society purchased a vacant building from the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Later, a new building was commissioned to architect William Templeton Johnson to fit the museum’s expanding needs. The new museum opened in 1933 serving visitors for decades, before undergoing a significant renovation. In 2001, after a nine-year and $38 million capital campaign, the museum reopened its doors. The major renovation added 90,000 square feet, more than doubling the museum’s size.

A Rich Mining History

San Diego County’s pegmatite mines are famous for their pink elbaite tourmalines and green and blue tourmalines. The Pala Gem district, near the town of Pala, is also renowned for its other pegmatite minerals – quartz, feldspar, garnet, lepidolite, morganite, aquamarine, and kunzite. Since the second half of the 19th century, the mines were worked with lithium-bearing lepidolite being the primary target. Then, in 1898, pink tourmaline was found at the Himalaya Mine, and later at the Stewart Mine.

Mining Pink Tourmaline

Pink tourmaline’s beauty attracted a far-away royal who became a patron, the Empress Dowager Tzu-Hsi (pronounced “Tsoo Shee”), or Cixi of China. The craze for pink tourmaline took place at the turn of the 20th century, and Tiffany’s & Co. facilitated the export. Between 1902 and the Dowager’s death in 1911, 120 tons of tourmaline were mind, with the majority sent to China. The beginning of the Chinese revolution and the abdication of her son, Emperor Puyi, in 1912, and the onset of World War I caused the mines to go dormant.

In 1969 the Pala Stewart mine hit a new tourmaline find and the Tourmaline Queen mine produced the most famous blue-cap pink tourmaline specimens, some with peach-colored morganite attached.

Finding Kunzite

Another famous gem discovered within the same pegmatite mines was kunzite. This mineral is the pale purple/pink variety of spodumene. When the early specimens were found, they were sent to George F. Kunz, a gemologist at Tiffany’s, who identified the mineral and named it after himself.

Pink Tourmaline @ the Oceanview Gem Mine

Today beautiful tourmaline and kunzite are mined at the Oceanview Gem Mine. Besides the daily underground mine operations and pursuit of great minerals, the mine is open to the public for fee-digging.

The mine is located east of Pala township, in San Diego County, and has been owned, since 2000, by Jeff Swanger. The screening process involves Swanger and his team bringing out gem-bearing material blasted from inside the mine and depositing it on a pile in the center of a cleared-out area. There are tables, tubs with water, and screens, where visitors can screen for gems, mostly kunzite and quartz, and some tourmaline specimens. Fee digging starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m., on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Reservations are required to participate in fee digging.

Depending on your expertise and luck, you may come away with some excellent specimens if you visit.

Himalaya Tourmaline Mine

Another spot in the area, also open for fee-digging is the Himalaya tourmaline mine, owned by High Desert Gems & Minerals. The mine is located near Santa Ysabel at Lake Henshaw. It is open Thursday through Sunday, and again, you keep all you find.

Additionally, the museum’s fossil collection includes the Cerutti Mastodon — a selection of 130,000-year-old preserved mastodon bones, molars, and tusks. Another exciting part of the collection is the Fossil Mysteries, which showcases 75 million years of southern California and Baja California fossil history.

This story about pink tourmaline previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Helen Serras-Herman.

The post Pink Tourmaline & Fossils in San Diego first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Where to Find Fossil Fish – Dig Sites

Two sites outside the small town of Kemmerer, Wyoming, offer pay-to-dig. Just make an appointment or register, show up and they will take great care of you, showing you how to fish… with a hammer and chisel.

One site is the Warfield Quarry, also known online as Fossil Safari, and the other is the American Quarry.

While visiting the pay-to-dig sites in Kemmerer, it is a must to travel a short distance away to the Fossil Butte National Monument. Sorry no collecting here, but the museum boasts a tremendous variety of animals and plants from the Green River Formation. Cut unobtrusively into the hillside, the visitor center is filled with wonderous fossils, a great compilation of the ecosystem 50 million years ago.

The Green River Formation

Pay-to-dig sites are part of the Green River Formation where there are hundreds, no, thousands of fish trapped in rock that was once a series of fairly shallow lakes. Streams and rivers drained the surrounding mountains enabling the formation of this special fossil location.

The Green River Formation is known as a lagerstatte, which loosely translated from German means “storage place.” The area butts up against the limestone of the Wasatch, Unita, Wind River and other mountain ranges. It is an area where fabulous and spectacularly preserved fossils including plants and animals represent a snapshot of life living within that ecosystem.

When & How was this Site Made?

The Eocene period, about 53 to 48 million years ago, was a transition from a warm and moist environment to one that was hotter and drier. This is evidenced by some of the fossil finds in the area. Palm fronds, crocodile and sycamore leaf remains point to a warm moist environment and deciduous tree leaves point to a drier climate. The mountains were partially made up of limestone. During heavy rains, water would run down into the streams and rivers bringing with it sand, mud and silt sediments filled with dissolved minerals such as calcium oxides, inorganic elements and calcium components.

This would wash into the lakes fouling the water, making it turbid and in some cases changing the pH levels. At times the change in the chemical composition of the water was detrimental to the life forms in it.

Fish would die along with many of the other creatures and become buried in the silty sediments. Paleontologists can tell by looking at the various layers, which were deposited during times of drought and which were deposited in times of flood. It is also possible by studying the cross-section of the quarry where the best location is to find fossil fish.

The spectacular fossilization and completeness of the fossil fish is because they were buried quickly. Even the bottomfeeding scavengers were not quick enough or did not survive to disarticulate the bodies of the dead fish. The sediments filtered down to the bottom of the lake and covered the creatures with thin layers. It is within these layers that spectacular fish specimens may be found.

Where to Find Fossil Fish – Digging

In specific horizons, one of which is called the split fish layer, a finely laminated limestone is present that entombed many fish. This is easy to split and if the rock contains a fossil, it splits so that you can easily see it in both a positive fish fossil and also a negative impression. The fish are beautifully preserved with bones, gill covers, ribs and even scales intact. In some cases, a bit of matrix, the limestone that clings to the fish skeleton, is still present. It is quite easy to remove. In many instances, all that is needed is a dental pick, or a pin vise to gently remove excess rock matrix. You must be very careful not to go too deep into the limestone so it’s best to attack it at an acute angle.

This limestone is so fine-grained that many plants and insects that fell into the water or were washed in from rivers and streams are also seen in spectacular detail.

In some areas birds, reptiles, turtles and even crocodiles may be found all preserved in exquisite detail.

This story about where to find fossil fish previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story and photos by Joseph “PaleoJoe” Kchodl.

The post Where to Find Fossil Fish first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

In 2022, Massachusetts became the latest state to announce an official dinosaur. Podokesaurus holyokensis, or ‘fleetfooted lizard,” was discovered in 1910 in western Massachusetts by Mount Holyoke College professor Mignon Talbot, also making her the very first woman in America to find, discover, name and describe a dinosaur!

Not every state has an official dinosaur. For instance, Montana has a dinosaur trail, but not a state dino. Find out who made the cut and why.

Arizona

Sonorasaurus thompsoni (2018)

This “Sonora lizard” was named after geology student Richard Thompson. He didn’t rely on trace fossils to identify his find, instead, he found a nearly complete skeleton weathering out on a rock wall in an unexplored region of the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona in 1994. This brachiosaurus was almost named “Chihuahuahsaurus” but paleontologist Ronald Paul Ratkevich with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum thought that made this dino sound like a tiny dog. Lol!

Arkansas

Arkansaurus fridayi (2017)

In 1972, circling vultures led Locksburg, Arkansas, service station owner Joe B. Friday to some odd bones poking out of a gravel ditch after local roadwork. He dug them up – three claws, four phalanges and three metatarsals – to display in his station. While on display, they caught the attention of paleontologist, Dr. James H. Quinn who determined them related to Ornithomimus and presented them at the 1973 Geological Society of America Meeting. Before Quinn could formally name his six- to 15-foot tall omnivore (plant and meat eater), he died while fossil prospecting in Nevada. The bill to name Arkansaurus fridayi as the State dinosaur was proposed by high school student Mason Cypress Oury.

California

Augustynolophus morrisi (2017)

California is known for the La Brea Tar Pits and the dinosaur fossil finds there. This dinosaur, combines the names of the Augustyn family (friends of the Los Angeles County Museum) and paleontologist William Morris, with dino relative, Saurolophus. Discovered in the Moreno Formation, the only known specimens of this herbivorous hadrosaur have been found in California, making it the perfect official state dinosaur.

Colorado

Stegosaurus (1982)

Since 1982, Stegosaurus “covered lizard” has technically been the official state fossil, not dinosaur, of Colorado. The first (1876) stegosaurus fossils were found in Colorado and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science even displays a skeleton unearthed by a local teacher and Canon City High School students. The brain in the head of this 10-ton giant was the size of a walnut, but research suggests a second, larger brain was in its… hindquarters!

Connecticut

Dilophosaurus wetherilli (2017)

This “two-crested lizard,” was among the earliest large predatory dinosaurs, thanks to its serrated teeth. It is the largest known North American land animal of its time. Today, it enjoys top billing among Jurassic Park characters, where a smaller (!) version was given the fictional ability to spit venom and expand its neck frill. It was designated the state dinosaur of Connecticut based on tracks found there.

Delaware

Dryptosaurus aquilunguis (2022)

This “tearing lizard” lived over 60 million years ago. It was a two-ton carnivorous dino that dominated the latter-Cretaceous period. Named by Othniel C. Marsh in 1877, Dryptosaurus is among the first theropods known to science.

Maryland

Astrodon johnstoni (1998)

This dino’s scientific name, Astrodon, means “star tooth.” Found in 1859 by John D. Latchford in his open iron ore pit near Prince George’s County, this planteating sauropod is the second dino species ever identified in the United States. In 1998, it was named after Baltimore Dental College professor Christopher Johnston, who sectioned the first Astrodon johnstoni tooth and discovered the star pattern inside.

Missouri

Hypsibema missouriensis (2004)

Originally called Neosaurus missouriensis, then Parrosaurus missouriensis, one thing is sure: Missouri loves its 10-foot tall, three-ton, duck-billed, plant-eating state dinosaur. The first bones – 13 vertebrae of a tail – were found in 1942 while digging a family cistern near Glen Allen. It marked the first and only dino remains found in Missouri. When House Bill 1209 went into effect in 2004, Missouri became the sixth state to have an official dinosaur and in 2008, a full-size H. missouriensis went on display at the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History.

New Jersey

Hadrosaurus foulkii (1991)

This duckbilled dinosaur was found by John Hopkins in 1858 while digging in a Haddonfield marl pit. More than 75 million years old, it became the first dinosaur species identified in North America from more than teeth. Thanks to write-in campaigns by Mrs. Berry and her fourth-grade class at Strawbridge Elementary School in Haddon Townships, Hadrosaurus was named state dinosaur in 1991.

Oklahoma

Acrocanthosaurus atokensis (2006)

This “high-spined lizard” lived across North America during the Early Cretaceous period. Fossil remains of the spiny predator have ranged from Maryland to Wyoming. At roughly 40 feet in length and weighing in at about four tons, Acrocanthosaurus was the largest theropod in its ecosystem. Its name comes from the Greek words for “thorn” and “lizard,” and Atoka County in Oklahoma, where the first fossils were found. The largest and most complete skeleton, nicknamed ‘Fran,’ was recovered from the Antlers Formation of Oklahoma and now resides in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Texas

Sauroposeidon proteles (2009)

When the first fossil remains of this “lizard earthquake god” and last known North American sauropod were found in 1994, they were so old and unusual in size that they were misidentified as petrified wood! Further analysis has since ranked it among the longest (110 feet), heaviest (60 tons), and tallest (55 feet) of all known dinosaurs. The reference to earthquakes comes from the notion that its weight was so great it must have made the ground shake as it walked.

Utah

Utahraptor ostrommaysorum (2018)

Its name means “Utah’s predator,” and this Early Cretaceous period carnivore, was roughly the size of a modern grizzly bear. The first fossils were found in 1975 near Moab but didn’t gain attention until 1991, when a large foot claw was uncovered in Gaston Quarry in Grand County. Originally to be named after film director Steven Spielberg, ostrommaysi was chosen instead, in honor of paleontologist John Ostrom, and Chris Mays, founder of robotics effects company Dinamation International.

Wyoming

Triceratops horridus (1994)

Named for its “three-horned face,” this frilled herbivore was among the last non-avian dinosaurs to disappear during the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction 66 million years ago. The first fossils of this dino superstar, who has appeared in films and on postage stamps, were misidentified as belonging to a very large and unusual bison. Six years before becoming Wyoming’s State Dinosaur, it was named the State Fossil of South Dakota.

This list of state dinosaurs article previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by L.A Sokolowski.

The post List of State Dinosaurs first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Often quite different from their more familiar North American counterparts, including the list of state dinosaurs, and adorned with bizarre frills, bumps, dorsal sails, and crests, these new southern “terrible lizards” are changing many of our perceptions about dinosaurs.

As an example, consider the now-diminished status of the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, the fiercest North American predator. The most widely recognized of all dinosaurs, T. rex had long been considered the biggest, baddest carnivore ever to walk the Earth. But now it seems that T. rex, whose name loosely means “king of the tyrant lizards,” is not really the king after all. It has recently been surpassed in both size and probable ferocity by Giganotosaurus from South America and Spinosaurus from Africa.

Dynamic Dinosaur Discoveries

Digging for dinosaurs in the Southern hemisphere is the latest chapter in dinosaur paleontology, a discipline that began in the late 1800s when dinosaur fossils were discovered in the American West, including the La Brea Tar Pits. At that time, the United States, as a rapidly developing nation, was ready and eager to fully exploit its dinosaur-fossil resources. It had paleontologists available to excavate the bones, museums, and universities to display them, and newspapers and magazines to publicize them.

Attracting worldwide attention, these fossil recoveries established the United States as the center of dinosaur excavation and research. During the following decades, many Americans grew up believing that such familiar North American dinosaurs as Tyrannosaurus, the long-necked sauropod Brontosaurus (now Apatosaurus), and the duck-billed hadrosaurs were representative of dinosaurs worldwide. But now, the plethora of recent southern-dinosaur discoveries are revealing that dinosaur diversity is far greater than previously realized.

Tectonic Plates

When the first dinosaurs appeared during the early Triassic Period some 240 million years ago, the Earth’s continental geography was radically different. Each a large, solid tectonic plate, the continents were grouped together into a supercontinent called Pangaea. Dinosaurs roamed freely across this vast landmass, shared many of the sames genes, and exhibited relatively little diversity.

But after dinosaurs had become well-established, Pangaea’s tectonic plates began to separate. By the dawn of the Cretaceous Period 145 million years ago, Pangaea had broken apart into two large landmasses: Laurasia to the north, consisting of the still-grouped, future continents of North America, Europe, and Asia; and Gondwana to the south, which included the future continents of Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica.

Shifting Continents Open Door of Fossils

The breakup of Pangaea into Laurasia and Gondwana, and the subsequent separation into the individual continents we know today, divided dinosaur communities into groups isolated by oceans. With gene-sharing no longer possible, these dinosaur groups began to evolve independently, developing features and traits suited to their specific environments.

Although the idea that continents could shift geographically had been suggested as early as 1600, it was not considered seriously until 1910 when German geophysicist Alfred Wegener observed that the coastal outlines of western Africa and eastern South America fit together as if they had once been joined. Citing similarities in particular African and South American plant and animal fossils, Wegener concluded that these two continents had once formed a single landmass, and, prior to this, all the continents had been consolidated into a single “supercontinent.” Wegener named this supercontinent “Pangaea” from the Greek words for “all earth.”

But because geologists could not yet explain the mechanics of continental movement, Wegener’s idea remained controversial. Finally, a half-century later, geologists realized that slowly circulating currents within the Earth’s semisolid mantle did indeed move the continents. This discovery of currents validated Wegener’s theory and led to the now-accepted principle of continental drift.

Perhaps the best-known South American dinosaur that developed through continental drift and subsequent isolated evolution is the carnivore Giganotosaurus (jig-a-NOT-a-SOR-us), a name meaning “giant southern lizard.” An amateur fossil hunter discovered Giganotosaurus’s bones in 1993 in the badlands of southern Argentina’s Neuquén Province.

Dino Relations

Despite their similar appearance, Giganotosaurus and T. Rex are not closely related. These two predators arose independently after the breakup of Pangaea. Giganotosaurus lived about 98 million years ago in South America, while T. rex existed some 30 million years later in North America.

Weighing 12 tons and stretching 45 feet from head to tail, Giganotosaurus, living in a prey-rich environment ideal for predators, was larger than T. rex. Unlike the conical teeth that T. rex used for crushing, Giganotosaurus had blade-shaped teeth better suited for slashing and slicing. It had stronger arms and claws, a longer skull, and prominent bony ridges above the eyes that may have been brightly colored to attract a mate. Argentina’s fossil-rich Neuquén Province also yielded the bones of the massive, long-necked sauropod Argentinosaurus (“Argentina lizard”). The rancher who found its bones in 1987 initially mistook them for huge pieces of petrified wood. But closer inspection showed them to be a massive leg bone and a six-foot-long vertebra of a previously unknown dinosaur.

Arguably the largest-known dinosaur, Argentinosaurus, which lived 95 million years ago, reached a length of 105 feet and weighed 90 tons. Thriving in lush forests, its extraordinary growth rate enabled 8-pound hatchlings to develop into 180,000-pound adults in just 15 years.

Another large, Cretaceous sauropod from Neuquén Province is Futalognkosaurus, a name meaning “giant chief lizard” in a regional, indigenous dialect. Discovered in 2002, this 100-foot-long sauropod had a prominent dorsal row of tall, shark-fin-shaped spines from its neck to its tail.

Argentinian Jurassic Icons

A smaller sauropod from Argentina, Amargasaurus, attained a length of 30 feet and weighed three tons. It lived 120 million years ago and also had a row of dagger-like, dorsal spines on its neck and back. Much taller than the spines of any other known sauropod, these may have served combined purposes of display, combat, and defense.

Dromaeosaurs, small, bipedal dinosaurs like the velociraptors that appeared in all three Jurassic Park movies, were known only in northern continents until the 2005 discovery of Buitreraptor (bwee-tre-RAP-tor) in Argentina. This small, five-foot-long, six-pound, bird-like dromaeosaur lived 95 million years ago and had a longer, flatter skull and more backward-curving teeth than its northern cousins. Like all velociraptors, it sported sharp, sickle-like claws on its big toes.

Although completely feathered, Buitreraptor (“vulture raider”) was flightless. But because its close relatives could fly, paleontologists believe that the ability to fly evolved twice, once among Gondwana dromaeosaurs and later among birds. Some paleontologists also believe that dromaeosaurs may actually have migrated by flight from Laurasia to Gondwana.

African Dinos

One of the first dinosaurs discovered in Africa was the huge theropod Spinosaurus (“spined lizard”). German paleontologists unearthed the first Spinosaurus skeleton in Egypt in 1912; although incomplete, its extremely large size attracted much attention. Unfortunately, these bones were later destroyed in the bombing of Germany during World War II.

Details about Spinosaurus remained a mystery until paleontologists excavated two nearly complete skeletons in Morocco in 1995. These bones showed that Spinosaurus, which lived 110 million years ago, was a ferocious, 13-ton carnivore and possibly the largest of all theropods. Its dorsal spines were ten times the length of the vertebrae. When connected with flesh and skin, these spines supported a large, dorsal “sail,” which likely served the multiple purposes of heat regulation, intimidation of other dinosaurs, and display during courtship.

Like modern crocodiles, Spinosaurus was at home on land and in water and hunted both terrestrial and aquatic prey. It was an excellent swimmer, and its sail may also have had a hydrodynamic function. Because of its size and bizarre appearance, Spinosaurus was chosen to “star” in Jurassic Park III, replacing Tyrannosaurus rex as
the film’s main antagonist.

Another Moroccan dinosaur is Carcharosaurus (“shark-toothed lizard”), a big theropod closely related to South America’s Giganotosaurus. It is named for teeth that closely resemble those of Carcharodon, the modern great white shark.

Modern Paleontological Hot Spot

The central-African nation of Niger has recently become another paleontological hot spot. Its northern Gadoufaoua Region in the Sahara now ranks as Africa’s most prolific source of late-Cretaceous dinosaur fossils. Recoveries include the bones of the five-ton sauropod Malawisaurus (“Malawi lizard”), named for the African nation where it was first found. Another is Ouranosaurus (“brave lizard,” after a nomadic term for “brave”), a slightly smaller sauropod with a massive dorsal “sail” that may have had a fat-storage function.
Some Niger dinosaurs have distinct crocodilian features, like Suchomimus (“crocodile mimic”), a 30-foot-long, three-ton theropod that lived 120 million years ago when the Sahara was covered with swamps and dense vegetation. Suchomimus had a long crocodilian skull; its jaws and teeth, like those of modern crocodiles, were adapted for grasping, rather than tearing the prey, which was mainly fish.

Another unusual Niger dinosaur is Nigersaurus (“Niger lizard”), a mid-Cretaceous, 30-foot-long sauropod with a short neck, long tail, and a unique head. Its wide, flat mouth was shaped like a vacuum-cleaner nozzle, with all the teeth at the front of its jaws. Both jaws had 50 tooth positions, each packed with nine replacement teeth so that when one tooth wore out, another immediately took its place. Paleontologists believe that Nigersaurus replaced about 100 teeth per month.

Madagascar Dinosaurs

Many strange dinosaurs also lived on what is now Madagascar. Located off Africa’s east coast in the Indian Ocean, the world’s fourth-largest island has been a separate landmass for 88 million years and provides many ancient and modern examples of isolated evolution.

One ancient example is the late-Cretaceous Rapetosaurus, a medium-sized, long-necked sauropod named for Rapeto, a mischievous giant of Malagasy folk legend. Rapetosaurus is known for the football-sized, bony deposits called osteoderms under the skin along its spine. These are thought to be survival features that stored calcium for use in times of stress or during periods of dietary deficiency to assure continued bone growth and eggshells’ development.

Madagascar’s smallest dinosaur is the two-foot-long, feathered Rahonavis (“cloud bird”), closely related to Buitreraptor and other Gondwana dromaeosaurs. Although no preserved feathers have yet been found, the arm bones of Rahonavis have small bumps called “quill knobs,” which are indicators of feathers on modern birds. Because of quill knobs and its wing-like arm shape, paleontologists believe that Rahonavis could indeed fly.

Also from Madagascar is Simosuchus (“pug-nosed crocodile”), which is not a dinosaur, but a rare, herbivorous crocodilian. It had a short, deep snout and jaws lined with leaf-shaped teeth similar to modern iguanas and adapted for eating plants. Simosuchus lived 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period; it was a poor swimmer that probably lived on land.

Impacts of Climate Change & Continental Drift

Dr. Joe Sertich, the curator of dinosaurs at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, studies the impacts of climate change and continental drift on Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs’ evolution and crocodiles. His work often takes him to Madagascar, where he recently excavated a nearly complete skeleton of Majungasaurus (“Majunga lizard,” after the region where it was found).

This 30-foot-long, bipedal predator was one of the few dinosaurs with a direct link to cannibalism. Majungasaurus appeared in the first episode of Jurassic Fight Club, a made-for-television, paleontological documentary that focused on its cannibalistic traits.
Sertich describes his Majungasaurus excavation as “easy,” because of the softness of the host sandstone. But while soft rock facilitates the excavation of Madagascar dinosaur fossils, it also presents a problem.

“Slash-and-burn agriculture has destroyed much of Madagascar’s rain forest,” Sertich explains. “This has caused extreme soil erosion that exposes dinosaur fossils at a rate faster than we can excavate them. If these fossils are not recovered immediately, erosion destroys them in less than a year.”

Sertich is often asked why paleontologists are suddenly discovering so many southern dinosaurs.

Evolution of Global Dinosaur Discoveries

“The overall state of dinosaur paleontology today in South America, Africa, and Madagascar is similar to what it was in the United States more than a century ago,” he explains. “These rapidly developing regions are rich in dinosaur fossils. They have growing numbers of paleontologists, and many of their most remote regions are just now being geologically surveyed. Because of all these factors, the rate of dinosaur-fossil discoveries is increasing dramatically.

“These discoveries will continue into the future,” adds Sertich, “and will greatly increase our knowledge of dinosaurs and their origins relative to continental drift and evolutionary isolation. This all adds up to a very exciting time in dinosaur paleontology.”

While dinosaur fossils are being excavated in the Sahara, the hottest, driest place on Earth, they are also being found in Antarctica, the coldest and windiest place. The presence of dinosaurs in Antarctica provides further confirmation of continental drift. Eons ago, when Antarctica was part of Gondwana and located nearer to the equator, it had a warm, moist climate, dense forests, and a sizeable dinosaur population.

Antarctic Fossils

Extreme cold and remoteness make excavating dinosaur fossils on Antarctica exceedingly difficult. Fossils can be found only in the relatively few areas not covered by snow and ice. And when fossils become exposed, the extreme temperatures and the expansion and contraction associated with repetitive freezing and thawing quickly destroy them.

Nevertheless, Antarctica has already yielded the fossilized remains of both Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs. Among the Cretaceous dinosaurs excavated from the sandstone of James Ross Island near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula is Antarcticopelta (“Antarctica shield”), a 20-foot-long, heavily armored ankylosaur and the first Antarctica dinosaur ever discovered. Along with heavy, spiked armor, Antarcticopelta had large, bony growths on the end of its massive tail that it could swing with great force as a defensive weapon.

Another Cretaceous dinosaur from Antarctica is Trinisaurus, a six-foot-long, beaked, herbaceous dinosaur that lived 75 million years ago. Trinisaurus is named for Trinidad “Trini” Diaz, the Argentinean geologist who discovered its bones in 2005.

Mount Kirkpatrick’s Dinosaurs

Antarctica’s Jurassic dinosaur fossils are found just below the summit of 14,856-foot-high Mount Kirkpatrick, one of the continent’s highest peaks. These Jurassic sediments, which were deposited when Antarctica was near sea level, were uplifted to their current 13,000-foot elevation 65 million years ago. Although Mount Kirkpatrick is only 400 miles from the geographic South Pole, high winds keep much of the mountain free of snow.

Among Mount Kirkpatrick’s dinosaurs is Cryolophosaurus (“cold crest lizard”), which lived 190 million years ago. About 20 feet long, it was the largest of the early Jurassic theropods. Unlike many theropods that had double crests along their skulls and necks, Cryolophosaurus had a single crest oriented forward toward the forehead, a “pompadour” look that has earned it the tongue-in-cheek name “Elvisaurus.”

Another dinosaur found high on Mount Kirkpatrick is the Jurassic herbivore Glacialisaurus (“icy lizard”), a long-necked, 25-foot-long, bipedal forerunner of the later, much larger, Cretaceous sauropods. When Antarctica was part of Gondwana about 100 million years ago, it was the land bridge over which giant South American sauropods migrated to Australia. The fossils of giant sauropods have already been found in Australia, and paleontologists expect to soon find similar fossils in Antarctica.

Joe Sertich and his colleagues are confident that they will discover many more southern dinosaurs. The study of their bones will continue to rewrite the books on how continental drift and isolated evolution impacted their development.

This story about types of dinosaurs previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Steve Voynick.

The post New Types of Dinosaurs Discovered first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Located right in the middle of downtown L.A., among the freeways and skyscrapers, the La Brea Tar Pits is an active paleontological research site where scientists dig for dinosaurs. The site is formed around a group of tar pits, where natural asphalt has been seeping up through the ground for tens of thousands of years. Over millennia, Ice Age animals became trapped in the sticky asphalt, which then preserved their bones as fossils. Trace fossils don’t come into play as much here as the actual bones themselves.

Finding the La Brea Tar Pits

The Tar Pits were first observed by European explorers in 1769, but were known to the Native peoples of Southern California for generations. The presence of fossils in the bubbling asphalt was not discovered until 1901 by a Union Oil geologist. When the significance of the pits was realized after years of fruitful excavation of fossils, the property’s owner, George Allan Hancock, donated the land to the County of Los Angeles so it could be preserved. Excavation of the pits continued on and off through the early 20th century, and in 1977, the George C. Page Museum, which housed many of the pit fossils, was opened to the public. To date, millions of fossils are on display at the museum, which is now called the Page Museum and Tar Pits. Visitors can watch paleontologists work in the lab and get an up-close look at the research being performed.

Deadly Tar

The reason behind the rich trove of Pleistocene fossils found at the La Brea Tar Pits lies in the unusual geology of the site. A large reservoir of petroleum called the Salt Lake Oil Field is located beneath the surface of the land; the result of marine plankton deposited in an ocean basin during the Miocene Epoch of five to 25 million years ago. During that time, the tectonic plates in the Southern California region changed to strike-slip faults, and crustal plates rotated. This stretched the Los Angeles region and formed a deep structural basis. Large amounts of marine sediments were deposited and were six feet deep in sections. Later, nearby mountains uplifted, and rivers flowing down brought large amounts of sand and gravel with them.

During the last 50,000 years, this petroleum—actually a low-grade crude oil and not tar, despite the site’s name, trapped and preserved the remains of animals and plants that lived in the area, which were then buried by sediment. The preservative properties of asphalt have maintained the integrity of bones that would have perished in other environments.

Tar Pit Discoveries

Discoveries from the La Brea Tar Pits have revealed a huge variety of animals that became stuck in the asphalt when it was covered over by water, dust or leaves. Mistaking the pits for a pond or solid ground, animals stepped onto it and became trapped. Carnivores were drawn to the trapped animals and became stuck themselves. Insects and birds became caught in the sticky substance as well, and over thousands of years, millions of creatures had fallen victim to the pits.

These circumstances, which played out long before Los Angeles existed as a city, have made the La Brea Tar Pits one of the most significant paleontological sites in North America.

“Our site has literally millions of specimens,” says Emily Lindsey, Ph.D., Associate Curator, and Excavation Site Director. “In some cases, we have thousands of individuals represented. This allows scientists to ask questions about species biology, behavior, and evolution that are almost never possible to study in the fossil record.”

A Unique Site

The Tar Pits are also unique because they have provided a variety of fossils that are rarely found together, including plants and animals, big fossils and small fossils, with more than 500 species in total, making it one of the only fossil sites in the world where something approximating an entire ecosystem is represented, according to Dr. Lindsey.

In addition, she points out that the period that La Brea Tar Pits covers is incredibly important for understanding the place we are in today.

“Over the last approximately 50,000 years, glaciers advanced and receded; the Ice Age ended; humans arrived for the first time in North America; and nearly three-quarters of all large mammals on Earth went extinct,” she says. “Studying how all these different processes interacted can give us valuable information for addressing today’s challenges of climate change, human impacts on ecosystems, and extinctions.”

Many Species of the La Brea Tar Pits

The sheer variety of animal fossils that have been uncovered in the pits is unprecedented and spans from herbivores like wooly mammoths and ground sloths to predators such as dire wolves and saber-toothed cats. Birds like eagles and vultures and insects such as beetles and flies have been found, along with freshwater invertebrates such as mollusks and anthropoids, that may have found their way into the pits because of streams flowing into the area.

The large animal most often discovered in the pits is the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus), with nearly 4,000 individual wolves having been excavated from the pits. The Tar Pits boast the largest number of dire wolf fossils ever found, and more than 400 of their skulls are on display at the Page Museum. Dire wolves were larger than modern wolves, and preyed on western horses (Equus occidentalis), ancient bison (Bison antiquus), ancient ground sloths (Xenarthra), and camels (Camelops), all species found in the La Brea fossil record. Dire wolves were likely lured into the pits by the herbivore species they preyed on that had become trapped in the asphalt.

Other Common Finds

The second most common large animal found in the Tar Pits is the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis). The Page Museum houses the largest collection of sabertoothed cat fossils in the world, with 2,000 individual animals discovered in the pits. This well-known ancient predator could weigh as much as 600 pounds and possessed two dagger-liked front teeth designed for killing. Saber-toothed cats preyed frequently on two of the herbivore species commonly found in the La Brea Tar Pits: bison and camels. This likely explains why so many of these predators were found in the pits.

In addition to western horses, ancient bison, ground sloths, and camels, other herbivores fell victim to the sticky asphalt, leaving their bones behind. Wooly mammoths, mastodons, elephants, and tapirs have all been found at the site, along with modern species like coyotes, raccoons, and rabbits.

Providing Information

Although large animals found at the La Brea Tar Pits get the most attention, a variety of other tinier fossils excavated from the pits is providing a wealth of information to paleontologists studying the behavior of ancient species, as well as the process of extinction.

“Fossils from La Brea Tar Pits have given unprecedented insight on what the world looked like during the Pleistocene or Ice Age,” says Dr. Lindsey. “Thanks to this treasure trove of fossils, scientists have concluded that saber-toothed cats hunted in groups; that bison migrated in and out of the Los Angeles area; and that trees were starved for carbon during the height of the Ice Age.”

But according to Dr. Lindsey, the most powerful findings of the Tar Pits are likely yet to come.

“A renewed focus on smaller fossils— such as leaves, seeds, insects, rodents, lizards, and birds—has the power to tell us a lot about how climate change and human activities intersected to turn the lush megafauna savannah of the Ice Age into the Southern California landscape we know today.”

This story about the La Brea tar pits previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Audrey Pavia.

The post Exploring the La Brea Tar Pits first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

What Are Ichnofossils?

Unlike when digging for dinosaur bones, Ichnofossils are categorized by their appearance and the implied behavior of the organic nature of their creators. They can be a helpful supplement to discovering more about dinosaurs, including their habits and habitats, and even determining a list of state dinosaurs.

Fossils themselves provide actual evidence through petrified or permineralized remains of shells, bones, leaves, teeth, or other direct evidence of prehistoric life. Ichnofossils are impressions, evidence in the sediment showing some activity by a creature or plant.

Ichnofossils also include feeding marks and coprolites — dino poo for lack of a better word. By slicing into coprolites, paleontologists can sometimes deduce whether the animal was an herbivore or carnivore. If plant material or seeds are found it was a plant eater. If shards of bone are found it was a meat eater. At times it is difficult to determine what specific creature left the evidence. There is also a newer study of urolites caused by the evacuation of liquid waste into softer sediments. Yes, paleontologists see evidence of that sometimes too.

As far as plants are concerned, ichnofossils can be the impressions of leaves though all the leaf material is completely gone. This can also include marks left in sediment showing a leaf or leaves as they blew across the ground. It also includes cavities in the rock where roots grew and decayed.

How Ichnofossils Formed

It’s easy to understand how plants and animals formed fossils, but it’s a little harder to grasp ichnofossil formation. The formation of ichnofossils requires certain conditions.

First, the sediment must be muddy soft soil or other substrates that can take an impression. The impressions then must dry quickly or be filled with softer sediment for them to be preserved. As the surrounding ground dries and hardens, the tracks are infilled with these softer sediments. The tracks begin to form ichnofossils. Eventually, the sediments turn to stone. Because of erosion, or digging by paleontologists, the tracks are exposed and the softer sediments are removed to reveal the ichnofossil track or trace.

What Ichnofossils Tell Us

Trace fossils can tell us more about the fossil animal than just its bones. In some cases they can tell us if they interacted with other creatures, they could show us confrontations and battles, herding behaviors and so much more.

Animal track ichnofossils can tell paleontologists whether the animals walked in herds or were solitary loners. They can also tell us how fast these animals moved. A mathematical formula has been developed that measures the distance between strides and the estimated length of the leg bones.

Fossil tracks can reveal whether a creature was four-legged or two-legged and if it dragged its tail while it walked. In nearly all cases of dinosaur trackways, no tail swish marks were left in the sediment meaning they did not drag their tails.

Paleontologists can generally also determine the type of creature by looking at the bone structures of the foot bones and the impression of the track in sediment.

Insects and other creatures also left evidence of their passing. Marine trilobites and crabs as well as terrestrial centipedes and millipedes left their footprints in soft sediment. Worms as they dug through sediments left cavities much like worms do today showing us that creatures then did the same as creatures today.

One can only imagine the excitement of paleontologists finding and describing trace fossils. Scientific knowledge and research coupled with imagination allow us to recreate what life was like during prehistoric times. Ichnofossils are an important piece of the puzzle.

This story about trace fossils previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Joseph “PaleoJoe” Kchodl.

The post What are Trace Fossils? first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

More than 20 years ago, geology and earth sciences teacher Steve Scott arrived in Venice, Florida with his family for a vacation. One day, while he was combing the beach, Scott talked to a couple of locals who told him that the fossil beds under the water were teeming with the remains not only of sharks but of other animals who roamed the earth and water there millions of years ago. It didn’t take long before he was off the shore and into the water.

“I’ve been collecting minerals and rocks my entire life, so when I learned about the underwater fossil beds, I became a certified diver,” he says.

His first dive was a game-changer. “I found a jaw from a giant sloth, and about 15 yards away I found a 5 1/2-inch Megalodon tooth,” he recalls. “That sloth jaw was a wonderful find. I’ve never forgotten that dive. I was hooked.”

Located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Venice, Florida, was initially settled as long ago as 8200 BCE by Paleo-Indians who hunted the animals whose remains are contained in fossil beds beneath the water.

Thanks to those offshore fossil beds, Venice has long been a mecca for divers who come from all over the U.S. and around the world. They search not only for shark’s teeth but for fossilized remains of everything from the large extinct elephant-like Mastodon to prehistoric giraffe.

At the same time, the waters off the Venice shore were a favorite birthing and resting spot for Megalodon or “Big Tooth” sharks that cruised the area sometime between 23 to 3.5 million years ago.

“This was a shark nursery,” explains Capt. Mike Konesnik, the owner of Aquanutz Charters who has hosted and supervised fossil dives in Venice for the better part of 10 years. “The females would drop pups, rest and feed before they returned to sea and headed north to the Carolinas.”

The young sharks remained in the nursery until they instinctively knew their bodies were strong enough to ward off predators in the open ocean, he says. Meanwhile, the evidence of their diet was left behind.

“They (the females) may have been feeding on whales and the babies may have been feeding on whales because we’ve found (whale) ribs,” Konesnik says.

As a result, the amount of still undiscovered shark teeth is seemingly endless. “What’s amazing is that we keep finding things,” says Scott, who now has 325 dives under his belt. “This shows you how big and thick those fossil beds are – there are more sharks there than there are people on earth.”

What’s attractive to divers is that most of those finds are made in just 30-feet of water. “It’s an easy dive,” Konesnik explains. “If you’re a fossil hunter you have a tendency to push the limit, and it’s much safer to push the limit in 30-feet of water than in 100-feet.”

That makes a difference even to an experienced diver, according to Ethan Schuth.

A fossil hunter since childhood, Schuth does most of his exploring for evidence of dinosaurs on land. In 2016, when some friends from the Dallas Paleo Society raved about their Florida dive, Schuth decided to find out why.

So he became a certified diver, headed to Venice and booked a trip on Konesnik’s charter. “I had never hunted for fossils in the water before, and it’s totally different,” Schuth points out. “On land, you can see, in the water, it’s darker and the environment is constantly changing – it’s a brand new dive every day – you can be in the water and find nothing, but the next day another diver may have brushed the site with a fin and opened up an entire area that you overlooked.”

That was the case during the first dive on his first day in Venice.

“I found a couple of little shark teeth – maybe two inches, but the last dive on the last day gave me the big tooth I was looking for,” Schuth recalls. “It’s as though it was meant to be. I was hooked.”

These days, Schuth spends 10 days every year fossil hunting off Venice’s beaches.

Meanwhile, the pursuit is growing, according to Konesnik. Every year a new crop of divers arrives in Venice to explore the waters there. Most are men, some veteran divers in their 80s, some as young as 12 years old making their first dives.

Meanwhile, underwater fossil searching is catching on with women, too, he says.

In any case, Konesnik requires that only certified divers who have made a minimum of 15 dives may sign on for one of his charters. Safety is one reason for that, but it’s not the only one. Inexperienced divers are most likely to focus on the mechanics of their dive and not on the reason they are in the water in the first place.

“They have to have some experience because if you are concentrating on the dive, you are not concentrating on the hunt,” Konesnik says. “Finding the shark’s teeth is not the reward, the hunt is.”

Even so, many divers are on the hunt for large finds – no matter what their condition, says Scott.

“Most of the fossils divers find are weathered and battered from being in the water for millions of years, and people are always looking for that 5 ½-inch tooth,” Scott says.

“But there are a million possibilities.”

These days, Scott, now retired, owns a condo on the beach and spends at least two months every year diving for fossils off Venice Beach. Whatever he finds, all the dives are good ones.

“I remember during November and December in 2021 the dives were especially memorable because the water was crystal clear,” Scott recalls. “But really it’s a treasure hunt – every time you find something, you make a memory – every day is a day you’ll remember.”

This story about shark teeth previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Pat Raia.

The post Diving for Shark Teeth first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

What are Mercenaria Clams?

Unlike fossil fish, the Mercenaria permagna is a marine bivalve – an aquatic mollusk with two similar halves hinged together and containing the soft parts of the creature within the calcium carbonate shell. Other popular marine fossils include trilobite fossils, fossil ammonites and agatized coral. Various Mercenaria species, also called Venus clams, are still alive in the oceans today and are edible. You may see them on the menu as quahog, cherrystone and littleneck clams. The valves usually have bilateral symmetry, which means only that the two haves are nearly equal in size and shape.

How Mercenaria Clams Fossilized

During the Pleistocene Epoch, 78,000 to 1.8 million years ago, these animals thrived in the warm saltwater tropical seas that periodically transgressed Florida. A transgression is the inundation of a landmass with water, be it salt or fresh, that remains for an extended period.

Throughout history, sea levels would occasionally rise and fall. Sometimes this was because of the sea rising, and sometimes it was because of the land sinking through geological forces such as plate tectonics.

Regardless, the clams lived and died in this space because they were trapped beneath the waves and sand or tossed up onto the beach. Being a hard substance, the calcium carbonate shells would generally survive decay while the soft tissues decayed, creating a void. Over time, calcium-rich water would permeate the shells and deposit calcite within the void, creating beautiful amber-colored rhombohedral crystals.

These amber-colored crystals are sometimes called honey amber. The impurities determine the color of the crystals during formation.

Coquina Matrix

Calcite is one of the most common and abundant minerals on earth. It has a Moh’s hardness of three, and a soft Coquina matrix generally surrounds the clams.

During the era in question, when the sea level dropped significantly, acidic rainwater dissolved some of the shells and beach sand that had accumulated and cemented them together to form Coquina. This Coquina is composed of many shell fragments and other dissolved or partially dissolved calcium carbonate structures. As sea levels again rose, successive sediment layers covered the area.

Where to Find Mercenaria Clams

These natural history wonders came from the once-closed Rucks Pit Crystal Mine located in Fort Drum, Florida. They have a pay-to-dig site where people can pick through the spoils piles; however, the most prized complete specimens are hardly ever found. Geologically, they generally were found within specific zones just above the Tamiami Formation within the Lower Nashua Unit. Diggers are most likely to find pieces of clams, whelks, and other shell material along with small and large calcite crystals, but it’s worth a try!

This story about fossil hunting in Florida for Mercenaria clams appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Joseph “PaleoJoe” Kchodl.

The post Fossil Hunting in Florida for Mercenaria Clams first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Montana was a vastly different landscape than it is today. “It was warmer than it is now and there doesn’t appear to be evidence of frozen polar ice caps,” noted Eric Metz, paleontology collections manager of the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. The Western Interior Seaway stretched from the Rocky Mountains east to nearly Minnesota, with a humid landscape lush with ferns and gymnosperms, such as conifers and Ginkos.

This vegetation fed herbivorous dinosaurs like the Maiasauras, Cerasinops, a relative of the Triceratops, and the 90-foot-long Apatosaurus. These species, as well as smaller animals, were often food for the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex, the smaller Troodons, or the “raptor” Deinonychus during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.

“We have a lot of evidence of early birds. They had teeth, which was cool,” said Metz who noted that there were also flying reptiles, which were not dinosaurs, and the Pterosaur was the largest creature that ever flew. “And you still had different species of lizards and frogs.”

While we don’t often envision it, Metz points out that there were three groups of mammals during this time, including the placentals, marsupials, and multituberculates, which had rows of cusped, interlocking teeth. These went extinct after the Cretaceous period for reasons unknown. And besides the land-dwelling animals, the inland sea teamed with life including the Plesiosaur, Mosasaur, and large marine turtles.

Digging Up The Past

While dinosaurs roamed most of North America, Montana is special when it comes to finding evidence of their lives. Metz said, ”To have dinosaur fossils present you have to have rocks of the right age and you don’t want to have strip malls and houses on top of it. Here we have large tracts of state, federal and private land where the rock is exposed.”

“We have Jurassic and Cretaceous exposures,” he said. “The Morrison Formation is one of the oldest rocks we have fossils from and it is approximately 156 million years old.”

With this foundation, there is a long history of important fossil finds in the state beginning as far back as the mid-1850s when the naturalist Ferdinand Hayden, who later led a geological survey into what is now Yellowstone National Park, discovered several species in what is now Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument. And in 1902, paleontologist Barnum Brown found the first “T-Rex” in the Hell Creek Formation.

More recently, finds changed the way we view dinosaurs. A generation ago, we were taught that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, slow-moving, lizard-like creatures with tails that dragged on the ground. Even the word dinosaur is derived from the Greek term “deinos” meaning terrible and “sauros” lizard.

In reality, Metz said, “They were agile, upright, and had different levels of temperature regulation.”

The Trexler’s Heritage

Discoveries, often by untrained aficionados, significantly shifted the scientific perspective. When Marion (Trexler) Brandvold, owner of the Trex Agate Shop in Bynum (what locals call “The Rock Shop”), found the remains of baby dinosaurs in 1978 while exploring the ranch land owned by James and Marian Peebles, the unique find turned paleontology on its head. For the first time, scientists recognized that dinosaurs cared for their young.

Brandvold contacted paleontologist Jack Horner, most recently well-known as the scientific advisor for the Jurassic Park movies, who further investigated the site, eventually finding a nest of dinosaur eggs of the newly named Maiasaura peeblesorum on what is now called Egg Mountain.

“We now know they are warm-blooded, very social and lived in herds,” explained Stacia Coverdell, assistant director of the Montana Dinosaur Center in Bynum, which came into being because of the Trexler family’s passion for dinosaurs.

“Our founder Dave Trexler, grew up out here on the ranch. When he was a teenager he found a dinosaur spine and wanted to know what he found,” she said. So he and his mother, Marion Brandvold, took a tour of the state to see what other museums offered as far as displaying their finds. The only skeleton they found was in the basement of the high school in Eklalaka. Upon their return, they turned the back half of the rock shop into a museum.

Hands-On Opportunities

With this fascination from his youth, Dave Trexler obtained his Masters in paleontology. He opened the Dinosaur Center in 1995 with the philosophy that science was for everyone. He offered hands-on digs for visitors, as well as an opportunity to see what is found in this area.

“All the fossils were used for scientific research,” Coverdell noted. “It’s basically a museum in reverse. We collect things together and then display them.”

From early May to the end of September, visitors can tour the museum, which is staffed with knowledgeable and friendly employees all with field experience. And from Memorial Day into September, half and full-day expeditions give guests real-life field experience in excavating fossils. The half-day outings are perfect for families with young children as it’s more of a “show and tell” adventure where they are not in the hot sun and weather for the entire day. The full-day digs put dinosaur fans into the nitty gritty of paleontological study.

“I’ve had four-year-olds and I’ve had 82-year-olds out,” said Coverdell. “We’ve dug in all sorts of sites. Our current dig site is by Augusta. We call it ‘The Graveyard.’ It is a 300-foot long line of bones dug in a trench.” There are at least four species of dinosaurs within the area, and Coverdell describes it as a smorgasbord of what is found in the Two Medicine area.

Forging a Dinosaur Trail

The Montana Dinosaur Center is just one example of the world-class dinosaur exhibitions and opportunities found throughout the state. The Montana Dinosaur Trail is a path through this ancient history and a way for dinosaur enthusiasts to learn and experience as much as possible.

“We currently have 14 facilities on the trail,” explained Victor Baornberg, also known as Maia Saurus, who is the coordinator of the Montana Dinosaur Trail. “Each of these facilities has locally sourced dinosaurs.”

The Montana Dinosaur Trail Takes Shape

The idea for the Dino Trail was generated by the community of Malta as a way to bring more people to their area. In 1994, Bjornberg said, “Amateur paleontologists found fully articulated dinosaur skeletons that had apparently died in a river and were covered with the sandbar.”

One of the finds included “Elvis” (named because they found its hip first), a nearly complete Brachylophosaurus skeleton, along with Leonardo, which had about 90% of the skin still on its body and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-preserved dinosaur.

It makes sense that dinosaurs are a draw. “Malta is a long way from everywhere,” explained Bjornberg, “The thought was to join museums across Montana and join forces creating a necklace of attractions.”

The trail kicked off with the opening of the Fort Peck Interpretive Center in 2005. “Peck’s Rex,” the impressive T-Rex replica of the nearly complete skeleton that was found in this area, is the wow factor that greets visitors. This center is also a terrific place to see the display of the creatures that once swam in the warm waters of this region.

Every museum or center features something special. There is a replica of Leonardo at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Field Station in Malta, although the fossil is loaned to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana. The museum also offers dinosaur digs and educational programs for kids and adults throughout the summer. This fieldwork is important not only from the visitor’s perspective but also as an integral aspect of dinosaur research.

“Montana is a really large state and no museum has the whole picture,” said Metz. “We can’t be there all at once. More eyes looking is good for the collective.”

Besides the Montana Dinosaur Center and the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum, the Carter Museum in Ekalaka offers hands-on projects, including the much-anticipated Dino Shindig held in July where paleontologists from around the world lead discussions and field trips, along with a weekend of fossil-centered projects.

Unique Characters Along the Way

Along with these memorable experiences, there is something for every level of dinosaur interest. The Depot Museum in Rudyard, along Hwy 2, adds a bit of humor to their exhibits featuring the Gryposaurus, (pronounced “gripe-a-saurus”), which was excavated from the local farm of Lila Redding. The saying on the welcome sign for Rudyard is: “596 nice people and 1 sorehead.” In this case, the Gryposaurus fits the role.

Montana’s largest state park, Makoshika State Park, is home to at least 10 different dinosaur species, including the bulk of the skeleton of the rare Thescelosaur. The Old Trail Museum in Choteau, which is roughly a half-hour from the Montana Dinosaur Center, features a life-size Maiasaura, along with other finds from the region. (There’s also an excellent ice cream shop in the complex.)

With so much to do and see, the Montana Dinosaur Trail created a passport where visitors receive a stamp for each visit. When the passport book is full, the reward is a gold seal in recognition of its completion and a t-shirt specifically designed for the program. “You can’t buy it,” says Bjornberg. “You have to earn it.”

This story about the Montana dinosaur trail appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Amy Grisak.

The post Exploring the Montana Dinosaur Trail first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.