Park Paleontology 1

A New Specimen of Stagonolepis (Aetosauria: Crurotarsi)

from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

William G. Parker

Department of Resource Management

Petrified Forest National Park

P.O. Box 2217

Petrified Forest, AZ 86028

isolated aetosaur elements previously assigned to S. wellesi and to critically analyze

past artistic reconstructions for this animal.

Additional Reading

Heckert, A.P. and S.G. Lucas. 1999. A new

aetosaur (Reptilia: Archosauria) from the Upper

Triassic of Texas and the phylogeny,

biochronology, and paleobiogeography of

aetosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

19(1):50-68.

Long, R. A., and K. L. Ballew, 1985. Aetosaur

dermal armor from the Late Triassic of southwestern North America, with special reference to

material from the Chinle Formation of Petrified

Forest National Park. Museum of Northern

Arizona Bulletin 54:45-68.

Long, R.A. and P.A. Murry. 1995. Late Triassic

(Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the southwestern United States. Bulletin of the New

Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

4:1-254.

Walker, A.D. 1961. Triassic reptiles from the

Elgin area: Stagonolepis, Dasygnathus, and their

allies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal

Society of London, Series B 248:103-204.

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Park Paleontology

Geologic Resources Division, Paleontology Program

Volume 6, Number 1

Winter 2002

Recent fieldwork in conjunction with an

inventory of paleontological resources in

Petrified Forest National Park (PFNP) has

resulted in the discovery of a possibly complete skeleton of the aetosaur, Stagonolepis

wellesi. Aetosaurs were large, herbivorous,

heavily armored reptiles common in late

Triassic terrestrial sediments. They comprise

a major portion of the faunas of the Chinle

Formation of Petrified Forest National Park.

Preliminary investigation of the specimen

suggests that close to 100 individual elements

are present, mostly armor plates. Numerous

non-armor elements are present as well

including a portion of the pelvis, several

vertebrae, and a few ribs. The skeleton is

about 2.5 meters in length and was recovered

from mudstone layers just below the Sonsela

Member of the Chinle Formation near

Battleship Rock in the southern end of the

Park.

This new specimen is of importance due to

the fact that associated skeletons, including

aetosaurs, are very rare in Chinle sediments.

Only one other relatively complete (more

than 50% of elements present) aetosaur

skeleton, Desmatosuchus haplocerus, has been

recovered to date from Arizona. Correlative

strata in Texas have produced a second

Desmatosuchus specimen as well as the type

specimen of Stagonolepis wellesi. While a

large amount of associated aetosaur material

has been recovered from other sites in the

southwestern United States, these four specimens, along with another, Typothorax

coccinarum from New Mexico, constitute the

only relatively complete aetosaur skeletons

known to date from North America.

As a result of the lack of whole specimens,

reconstruction of these animals has mainly

been from isolated elements. This specimen

will allow for deterministic comparisons with Stagonolepis wellesi reconstruction by Douglas Henderson from Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Long, Houk and

Henderson, 1998)

Table of Contents

A New Specimen of Stagonolepis

(Aetosauria: Crurotarsi) from Petrified Forest

National Park, Arizona ................................. 1

Palynology of the Aquicludes of Fossil Gulch,

Hagerman Fossils Beds National Monument,

Hagerman, Idaho ......................................... 2

Emergency Fossil Salvage Collection of the

Titanothere Graveyards, Badlands National

Park: A tragic story with a happy ending ..... 3

A Newly Discovered Catfish Skull from the

Smithsonian Horse Quarry, Hagerman Fossil

Beds National Monument ............................ 4

Preliminary Report on Recent Discoveries

during a Paleontological Survey in

AniakchakNational Monument and Preserve –

2001 ............................................................ 5

NPS Paleontologists Participate in Discovery

Channel Show: Walking with Prehistoric

Beasts .......................................................... 5

Remains of the Last of the Sauropod Dinosaurs Excavated at Big Bend National Park ... 6

Museum of Geology , South Dakota School

of Mines and Technology Mounts Skeleton of

Archaeotherium for Badlands National Park 7

Summary – Survey of Fossils in Parks ......... 10

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Particpates in Colorado Digitization Project10

isolated aetosaur elements previously assigned to S. wellesi and to critically analyze

past artistic reconstructions for this animal.

Additional Reading

Heckert, A.P. and S.G. Lucas. 1999. A new

aetosaur (Reptilia: Archosauria) from the Upper

Triassic of Texas and the phylogeny,

biochronology, and paleobiogeography of

aetosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

19(1):50-68.

Long, R. A., and K. L. Ballew, 1985. Aetosaur

dermal armor from the Late Triassic of southwestern North America, with special reference to

material from the Chinle Formation of Petrified

Forest National Park. Museum of Northern

Arizona Bulletin 54:45-68.

Long, R.A. and P.A. Murry. 1995. Late Triassic

(Carnian and Norian) tetrapods from the southwestern United States. Bulletin of the New

Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

4:1-254.

Walker, A.D. 1961. Triassic reptiles from the

Elgin area: Stagonolepis, Dasygnathus, and their

allies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal

Society of London, Series B 248:103-204.
2 Park Paleontology

Palynology of the Aquicludes

of Fossil Gulch, Hagerman

Fossils Beds National Monument, Hagerman, Idaho

Eddie B. Robertson

Reinhardt College,

Waleska, GA 30183

Initial results of an evaluation of the pollen

and spore microflora entrapped within the

shales of the aquicludes associated with the

famous Fossil Gulch at the Hagerman Fossil

Beds National Monument, Hagerman, Idaho.

Indicates a diversity of plant types. Fossil

Gulch is best known for the location of the

quarry that produced over 200 individuals of

the Hagerman horse, Equus simplicidens,a

late Pliocene (3.5 million years before

present) zebra-like species, extensively quarried from the locality since the 1930s. The

shales of the aquicludes are within the late

Pliocene (early Blancan) Glenns Ferry Formation and appear to represent a locally

unique sedimentary environment. The sediments of the Glenns Ferry Formation sampled

are exposed on the west bank of the Snake

River (GPS N 42° 49.406’, W 114° 56.192’).

Five samples were taken from shales of the

aquicludes (elevation 3100’) located approximately 200 feet below the Horse Quarry

(elevation 3300’). The interest in the pollen

and spore content of the sediments is interesting in that it sheds some light on the character of the local flora at the time contemporary with the Hagerman Horse (Equus

simplicidens). The sediments of aquicludes

are not the sediments within which the vertebrates were entombed.

The data was compiled for each of the five

samples collected in the preliminary investigation. The analysis looked at the composite

flora as if it was one sample. The presence of

the various diatoms, Pediastrum, and other

algal forms, added to the recovery of water

lily pollen, tells us the sediments were from

clear, cool, oligotrophic ponds. The ponds

were surrounded by high grass prairie or

meadow. Surprisingly, only a few grains of

sage (Artemesia) and ragweed (Ambrosia)

were recovered. Some of the expected riparian (river corridor) hardwood species were

found including oaks (Quercoidites), holly

(Illexopollenite), willow (Salixopollenites),

poplar (Inaperturopollenites), and hemlock

(Tsugaepollenites). The recovery of fir

(Abietineaepollenites), pine (Pinuspollenites),

and spruce (Piceapollenites) indicate airborne

and water borne input from the surrounding

coniferous forest.

The overall impression is that the primary

community associated with the formation of

the aquicludes was an upland wet meadow

surrounding biogenically (beaver) or geologically (lava flow) created oligotrophic ponds.

The dark bands in the middle of the picture are aquicludes or pond deposits. They are in the Glenns Ferry

Formation found in Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.

Fossil Pollen and

Spores

Pollen grain of the water lily, Nuphar. Fir pollen, Abies, recovered from the aquicludes at

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.

Additional Reading

Leopold, E.B. and V.C. Wright. 1985. Pollen

profiles of the Plio-Pleistocene transition in the

Snake River Plain, Idaho. pp. 323-348 in C.J.

Smiley (ed.) Late Cenozoic History of the Pacific

Northwest. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Pacific Division, San

Francisco.

The study of fossil pollen and spores is called

palynology. Most pollen found as fossils has been

transported by wind rather than by insects. The

pollen of coniferous trees such as pine and spruce

are common examples of wind-dispersed pollen.

This pollen “rain” often includes the pollen from

many different types of plants. When deposited in a

pond or a low oxygen environment the different

types of pollen will be preserved. The relative

abundance of each pollen type provides an indication of the relative abundance of different types of

plants in the area. After preparing the samples,

palynologists collect a subsample and count the

number of grains of each type of pollen. Changes

in the proportion of different types of pollen and

spores through the stratigraphic sequence is

presented in a pollen diagram. The diagram cab

provide information about changes in the environment.
Park Paleontology 3

Emergency Fossil Salvage Collection of the Titanothere Graveyards, Badlands National Park:

A tragic story with a happy ending

Rachael C. Benton

Badlands National Park

P.O. Box 6

Interior, SD 57750-0006

Pawnee Grasslands in North Eastern Colorado. The focus of the South Dakota School

of Mines will be on biostratigraphy. At

present we don’t fully understand what

mechanisms created the Titanothere Graveyards.

The first objective is to identify the extent of

the bone bed by a surface survey. A site

datum will be selected, its position recorded

via GPS and a total station. A 1 meter sq. grid

system set along a North/South and East/

West transect will also be set up over the site.

All surface specimens will be collected from

each grid cell and labeled with the grid cell

coordinates. All specimens eroding out on

the surface will be salvaged. Each specimen

will receive a unique field number so that it

can be linked to all attribute data. The site

will also be extensively photographed to

record the positions of the bones. Quarry

operations will not begin until all surface

collecting and stabilization is completed.

Microstratigraphic units will be defined and

documented for each quarried specimen.

Emmett Evanoff working under the Denver

Museum will determine the overall geologic

setting and stratigraphic horizons represented at the site. The graveyards are located

within the Crazy Johnson and Peanut Peak

Members of the Chadron Formation which

was described by Clark as a huge river system

flowing east from the Black Hills during the

late Eocene (Red River Valley Complex).

The Site is lateral to a series of stacked channel-belt deposits that occur to the northeast.

These channel-belt deposits are ribbon to

sheet sandstone units that show lateral accretion stratification and locally abundant,

medium-scale, trough crossbed sets. The

trough crossbeds and the elongation of the

sandstone ribbon deposits indicate a northwest to southeast trend of the streams. The

detailed alluvial architecture of these deposits will determine where the Titanothere

Graveyard site occurs relative to the channels

and its paleogeomorphic setting in the original flood plain. The distribution of sandstone

and mudrock deposits in the general area will

be mapped and numerous detailed sections

using proximal overbank sheet sandstones as

marker units will be described. These and

other marker units (paleosol horizons or

other persistent units) will be traced

throughout the region with concentration of

study on the stratigraphic positioning of the

Titanothere Graveyard. Each channel-belt

deposit will be studied to determine the

internal architecture of the channel-belt

deposits, the form of the original channels

and the directions of the paleocurrent flows.

Fossil specimens from the Titanothere

Graveyard will make an ideal exhibit for the

Lakota Heritage and Education Center being

planned near the South Unit, or the Ben

Reifel Visitor Center at Badlands National

Park, which is presently undergoing exhibit

redesign. If a partial skeleton is collected,

then casts of the material currently in the

collections will be made in order to complete

General View of the Titanothere Graveyard at Badlands National Park.

Brontotheres (Titanotheres), the first badlands fossils to be described, are considered

the largest and most impressive of the early

mammals preserved at Badlands National

Park. These creatures were about the size of

an Indian elephant and had huge blunt

paired horns on their snouts. The South Unit

at Badlands contains many of the historic

collecting and research areas within the park,

dating back to scientific surveys in the late

1800’s.

On October 26, 1999, a park ranger discovered recent illegal diggings at the remote

Titanothere Graveyard locality within the

South Unit at Badlands National Park. Follow-up surveys documented over 18 poaching sites within the graveyards. The poachers

were never caught. Park staff have created a

baseline GIS layer of the site and are presently patrolling the site once a week.

The park received a three year grant through

the NRPP program to stabilize, excavate,

prepare and document the Titanothere

graveyard locality. Park staff will work with

field crews from the South Dakota School of

Mines and Technology (Carrie Herbel P.I.)

and the Denver Museum of Nature and

Science (Russell Graham P.I.). Excavations

will start in August of 2002 and will continue

for 5 weeks. With the assistance of our cooperating partners, we will maintain a minimum field crew of 10-15 volunteers to be on

site for a field season of 5 weeks each year.

We will also hire two on-site crew bosses,

one NPS employee to serve as park liaison

and provide direct project oversight and

logistical support, and the other (from the

cooperating institution) to supervise volunteer crews. We will also hire a seasonal law

enforcement ranger to protect the open

quarry site and the workers for the duration

of the excavation each year (The quarry will

be covered with gravel at the end of each

field season to protect the site until the next

season). A base camp consisting of field

shelters, sleeping tents, and portable toilets

will be set up at the site.

Fossil specimens will be prepared, curated

and studied at both cooperating institutions.

Due to the remoteness of the site, the majority of funding is directed towards logistics.

Two institutions are needed to provide a large

enough volunteer crews to carry out the

excavations. The Denver Museum will focus

on questions on depositional environments

and will compare the site to discoveries made

at Bones Galore, a late Eocene site on the Continued on page 4
4 Park Paleontology

the specimen. It is hoped that at least one

complete titanothere specimen will be collected during this 3-year effort.

The South Unit at Badlands National Park is

located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The memorandum of Agreement between the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the National Park Service for managing the park’s

South Unit (on the Pine Ridge Reservation),

states that “The Service shall ...provide for

the care, maintenance, preservation and

restoration of features prehistoric, historic,

scientific or scenic interest...” The memorandum of agreement states that Badlands

staff will manage the South Unit using the

standards and guidelines of the National

Park Service. Under this agreement, we

don’t feel there will be a major conflict to

operate a scientific quarry on tribal land.

Developing a scientific quarry is a proactive

method in dealing with a very serious law

enforcement problem. The information

gained from this approach will be passed on

to other paleontology parks and land management agencies. Fossil poaching plagues

all land management agencies that contain

paleontological resources within their

boundaries. This project will create a “presence” within a normally remote area sending

a message to fossil thieves that Badlands

National Park is actively protecting its fossil

resources.

Additional Reading

Mader, B.J., 1989, The Brontotheriidae: a systematic revision and preliminary phylogeny of

North American genera. In The Evolution of

Perissodactyla, eds. D.R. Prothero and R.M.

Schoch, pp.458-84. Oxford: Clarendon.

Mader, B.J., 1998, Brontotheriidae. In Evolution

of Tertiary Mammals of North America, Vol. 1,

eds. C.M. Janis, K.M. Scott, and L.L. Jacobs, pp.

525-536. Cambridge University Press.

Terry, D.O., Jr., 1998, Stratigraphy, depositional

environments, and fossil resources of the

Chadron Formation in the South Unit of Badlands National Park, South Dakota. In Partners

Preserving Our Past, Planning Our Future, Proceedings for the Fifth Conference on Fossil

Resources, eds. J.E. Martin, J.W. Hoganson, and

R.C. Benton, pp. 127-138.

Continued from page 3

A Newly Discovered Catfish Skull from the Smithsonian Horse

Quarry, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

Philip A. Gensler

Quaternary Science Program,

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona 86011

Catfish skull in place at the Smithsonian Horse Quarry, Hagerman Fosil Beds National Monument

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

has recently (Fall 2001) finished a three-year

comprehensive survey to locate and document all fossil-bearing localities within the

Monument. The end result of this ground

survey yielded large numbers of Pliocene

aged (Blancan Land Mammal Age) vertebrate

and invertebrate fossils. While Hagerman

Fossil Beds is most famous for its

Smithsonian Horse Quarry and Equus

simplicidens (Hagerman horse), a wide variety of other taxa are also found there. Sites

throughout the Monument continually produce great quantities of fossil material other

than the horse.

Near the end of the 2001 field season a remarkable discovery was made. Protruding

from the sandstone wall of the Smithsonian

Horse Quarry was a nearly complete bullhead catfish skull (Amiurus vespertinus).

While there are no native catfish west of the

continental divide today this extinct catfish is

known to have existed in the Pliocene-Pleistocene deposits of ancestral Lake Idaho and

its tributaries in Idaho and eastern Oregon.

Remains of this catfish are readily found

throughout the Monument but nearly always

as isolated bones. Earlier researchers described this catfish based on isolated skull

bones, as no complete skeletons or skulls had

been recovered. Once this new specimen is

removed from its plaster cast and the matrix

removed, it may well prove to be the most

complete Amiurus vespertinus specimen

recovered to date. A complete skull will give

paleontologists an important understanding

of the osteology of this relatively unknown

fish.

 Additional Reading

Lundberg, J.G. 1975. The fossil catfish of

North America. University of Michigan Papers

on Paleontology 11:1-51.

Miller, R.R., and G.R. Smith. 1967. New fossil

fishes from Plio-Pleistocene Lake Idaho. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 654:1-24.

Smith, G.R. 1975. Fishes of the Pliocene

Glenns Ferry Formation, southwest Idaho. University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology

14:1-68.

Smith, G.R. 1981. Late Cenozoic freshwater

fishes of North America. Annual Review of

Ecology and Systematics 12:163-193.
Park Paleontology 5

Preliminary Report on Recent

Discoveries during a Paleontological Survey in Aniakchak

National Monument and Preserve – 2001

Anthony R. Fiorillo

Dallas Museum of Natural History

P.O. Box 150349

Dallas, TX 75315

Numerous stops were made during the float

trip. Much of the sampling has not yet been

analyzed and will likely prove fruitful, but

significant results were obtained through

field observations and are discussed here.

We climbed the wall of the caldera near the

Gates and discovered numerous plant-bearing deposits between the volcanic layers that

the caldera is famous for. Given that volcanoes last for only a few thousand years volcanic rocks are the best for determining dates,

these fossil deposits represent an opportunity

to investigate rates of floral succession in this

area Examination of the Jurassic units in the

Park revealed several invertebrate fossil

localities but no evidence of a depositional

system similar to that observed at Ukak Falls

in Katmai National Park.

The most notable find of the trip was the

discovery of a three-toed dinosaur footprint

along the coast of the Park in the Late Cretaceous Chignik Formation. This track is the

first evidence of Cretaceous dinosaur remains from the Alaska Peninsula and the age

of the track is approximately the same as the

spectacular dinosaur finds on the North

Slope. Given the shape of the track and its

age, this track was likely made by a

hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur. Associated with the three-toed track are two other

impressions that may prove to be prints made

by the hands of this animal. While performing a salmon survey with NPS personnel in

mid-September also made a latex mold of the

track. The mold is in the Dallas Museum of

Natural History and we were successful in

making a plaster cast of the track so that a

physical impression of the footprint is now

available for study. The plaster specimen in

conjunction with photographs taken on site

will be used to describe the specimen for

scientific publication by the author of this

survey report.

NPS Paleontologists Participate in Discovery Channel Show:

Walking with Prehistoric Beasts

The recent show on the Discovery

Channel, Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, included an interview

with Scott Foss, museum technician

at John Day Fossils Beds. Scott

recently completed his doctorate on

a group of animals known as

entelodonts (see side bar) entitled:

Systematics and Paleobiology of the

Entelodontidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), in the Department of

Biological Sciences, Northern

Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. During his interview on the

show Scott in describing these

animals said, “I’ve always imagined

these as being creatures that have

an ‘attitude’. They would walk into

a room and say I’m Here”.

While a relatively recent addition as a permanent employee at John Day, Scott has had a long

association with the NPS and worked as a seasonal at both Badlands National Park and John

Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

Greg McDonald, paleontology program coordinator, in the Geologic Resources Division, was

a scientific consultant for the ground sloth featured in the show.

Additional Reading

Foss, S.E. and T. Fremd. 1998. A survey of the species of Entelodonts (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) of

the John Day Basin, Oregon. Dakoterra 5:63-72.

Hunt, R. Jr. 1992. Death at a 19 million year-old waterhole: the bonebed at Agate Fossil Beds

National Monument, western Nebraska. Museum Notes No. 83: 6 pp.

Joeckel, R.M. 1990. A functional interpretation of the masticatory system and paleoecology of

entelodonts. Paleobiology 16(4):459-482.

Mead, A.J. 1998. An embedded tooth in an oreodont cranium: evidence for feeding habits of

Oligocene Entelodonts. Dakoterra 5:73-75.

Scott Foss, museum technician, John Day Fossils Beds, with

his favorite fossil, the entelodont, Dinohyus, which he now

calls Daenodon, found at Agate Fossil Beds.

What are

Entelodonts?

Entelodonts are an extinct group “pig-like”

hoofed mammals that lived in North America

between 39 and 19 million years ago. They are

probably best known for their unusual flanges that

extend ventrally from the cheek bones and the

knob-like protuberances on the ventral portion of

the mandible. Entelodonts are interpreted to be

the “top-scavengers” of their time and probably

ate everything from tubers to meat. The chipped

enamel on their large teeth, together with the

massive chewing and biting muscles supports an

interpretation that these animals were also bone

crushers. Imagine a pig the size of a bison that

filled an ecological niche somewhere between a

modern grizzly bear and a hyena.

Large numbers of entelodonts have been discovered in Badlands National Park and Agate and John

Day Fossil Beds. The “Pig Dig” at Badlands and

the Agate Springs Quarries at Agate Fossil Beds are

two of the most important fossil quarries that

have yielded complete entelodont specimens.

Entelodonts are an extinct group of “pig-like”

hoofed mammals that lived in North America

between 39 and 19 million years ago. They are

probably best known for their unusual flanges that

extend ventrally from the cheek bones and the

knob-like protuberances on the ventral portion of

the mandible. Entelodonts are interpreted to be

the “top-scavengers” of their time and probably

ate everything from tubers to meat. The chipped

enamel on their large teeth, together with the

massive chewing and biting muscles supports an

interpretation that these animals were also bone

crushers. Imagine a pig the size of a bison that

filled an ecological niche somewhere between a

modern grizzly bear and a hyena.

Large numbers of entelodonts have been discovered in Badlands National Park and Agate and John

Day Fossil Beds. The “Pig Dig” at Badlands and

the Agate Springs Quarries at Agate Fossil Beds are

two of the most important fossil quarries that

have yielded complete entelodont specimens.

Scott Foss, museum technician, John Day Fossils Beds, with

his favorite fossil, the entelodont, Dinohyus, which he now

calls Daenodon, found at Agate Fossil Beds.
6 Park Paleontology

Remains of the Last of the Sauropod Dinosaurs Excavated at Big

Bend National Park

Excavation of the neck of Alamosaurus at Big Bend National Park. Tony Fiorillo with notebook.

A helicopter was used to lif the plaster jackets containing the neck vertebrate of Alamosaurus and fly

them out of the wilderness area in the park where

they were found.

truck parked some distance away. These field

jackets were then driven to the Dallas Museum of Natural History.

Careful preparation of the specimen is

needed before final study. Visitors to the

Museum can view the progress of the project

through the public window into the fossil

laboratory. The preparation component of

the project is expected to take two to three

years. Additional work at the site includes a

plan for spot checking a map generated by

ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The GPR

work suggests that several other bones of this

skeleton remain to be excavated. This second

site is in the same general area as the above

project and the specimens recovered are also

from the Javelina Formation. This site is

significant for two reasons. First, it is the first

bonebed containing the remains of

Alamosaurus, and second, the sauropod

remains are all from juveniles. The depositional setting at this site is that of a shallow

lake.

Alamosaurus is the only taxon recorded from

this site. Based on the number of femora,

there are at least three individuals represented. Comparison of limb element length

of specimens from this site with those of

adults shows these juveniles are approximately 50%-60% adult size, or approximately

10 to 13 meters long. Outcrop pattern is poor

in this area but the current stratigraphic

approximation is that this site is 60 meters

above the contact with the underlying Aguja

Formation.

A second project by the same partnership as

the above has completed the field component

of a second Alamosaurus project within Big

Bend National Park. The site of deposition is

an approximately 67 million -year-old lake

bed. Abundant charophyte fossils indicate

deposition in shallow, relatively clear, alkaline waters. The lake bottom was fine mud.

Bones are dispersed through a two meter

interval but are concentrated along the base

of the unit. Many limb bones have high angle

plunges that in some extreme instances

approach vertical. This bone orientation

pattern, the contorted nature of the entombing sediments, and the suggestion of large

sauropod footprints at the upper contact of

the bone-bearing unit suggests that this site

experienced bioturbation (dinoturbation)

probably by adult sauropods. Results of this

project were presented at the annual meeting

of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in

2001.

 Additional Reading

Gilmore, C. W. 1922. A new sauropod dinosaur from the Ojo Alamo Formation of New

Mexico. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections

LXXII (14):1-9

Lehman, T.M. and A.B. Coulson. 2002. A

juvenile specimen of the sauropod dinosaur

Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Upper Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal

of Paleontology 76(1):156-172.

Lucas, S.G. and A.P. Hunt. 1989. Alamosaurus

and the sauropod hiatus in the Cretaceous of

the North American western interior. pp. 75-86

in J.O. Farlow (ed.) Paleobiology of the Dinosaurs. Geological Society of America Special

Paper 238.

Mateer, N.J. 1976. New topotypes of

Alamosaurus sanjuanensis Gilmore (Reptilia:

Sauropoda). Geological Institute of the University of Uppsala n.s. 6:93-95.

Anthony R. Fiorillo

Dallas Museum of Natural History

P.O. Box 150349

Dallas, TX 75315

In June of 1997, a member of a joint DMNHUTD (Dallas Museum of Natural History

(DMNH), and the University of Texas at

Dallas (UTD) field party discovered the

weathered remains of the sacrum of a large

sauropod dinosaur in the Javelina Formation

(Late Cretaceous: Maastrichtian) at Big Bend

National Park. Given the stratigraphic setting of the specimen, this specimen is tentatively assigned to the genus Alamosaurus as it

is the only sauropod dinosaur recorded from

the Late Cretaceous of North America.

Alamosaurus seems to have had a restricted

geographic range, found only in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Unfortunately given the significance of this animal it

is poorly known from complete skeletal

material.

Subsequent work at the site resulted in the

discovery of an articulated string of nine

neck vertebrae. These vertebrae represent

the first articulated neck known of

Alamosaurus, thereby justifying a large-scale

excavation. NPS staff took the lead on securing appropriate protocols for the excavation,

while also handling all media contacts. Bell

Helicopter provided use of one of their helicopters and a helicopter crew for the operation.

After ten days of field excavation to ready the

dinosaur neck for extraction, the helicopter

crew successfully lifted each of the vertebrae

from the site and deposited them on a flatbed
Park Paleontology 7

Museum of Geology, South Dakota School of Mines and

Technology Mounts Skeleton of Archaeotherium for

Badlands National Park

Rachel Benton

Badlands National Park

P.O. Box 6

Interior, SD 57750-0006

Carrie Herbel

Museum of Geology

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Rapid City, SD 57701

Daniel Lien

Museum of Geology

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Rapid City, SD 57701

The second cast will be made using supplies

currently available within the Museum’s

preparation laboratory. A group of volunteers have offered to make the second cast

and complete it by December 2002. The

original skeleton is now stabilized and will

be stored within the Museum collections in a

protected manner using Ethafoam and stable

bedding jackets.

Undergraduate students comprised the labor

pool to complete this project. Under the

supervision of Ms. Carrie Herbel, Collections Manager and Preparator and Daniel

Lien, South Dakota School of Mines undergraduate student, many students obtained

valuable experience to do such work, a commonplace thing for many natural history

museums.

Procedure

The overall casting process proved to be very

long and involved. Each step required an

enormous amount of problem solving and

often required more time than was originally

planned. The following is a list steps that

were followed to complete the project.

1. The original skeleton was dismounted

from the exhibit in the Museum of Geology exhibit hall.

2. Once the bones were removed from exhibit, they were stabilized in preparation

for molding.

3. The molding process of the skeleton

was set up in such a way to limit the

amount of stress on each bone within

the skeleton.

4. Using rubber latex, the skeleton was

molded. Cheesecloth was used to

strengthen the latex. Plaster mother

molds were made around the latex

molds in order to retain the shape of the

rubber. The bones were removed from

the molds.

5. The skeleton was cast from the latex

molds using Super Hard 4:1 Epoxy

Resin (Tap Plastics), a resin well known

for its strength and durability.

6. The casts were prepared for mounting

by inserting metal rods and drilling

screw holes into the casts.

7. The cast was mounted on a metal framework and sturdy base.

8. The cast was painted using acrylic paint.

9. The finished mount will be delivered to

Badlands National Park.

David Lien with cast of skeleton of

Archaeotherium he and the Museum of Geology

team produced for Badlands National Park

Original museum mount of Archaeotherium from

Badlands Nationa Park on dispaly at the Museum

of Geology, South Dakota School of Mines and

Technology, Rapid City.

Since 1993, the Big Pig Dig has proven to be

one of the more significant paleontological

finds in recent years at Badlands National

Park. It also has developed into a major

visitor education center, attracting between

5,000 and 8,000 visitors per year. Each field

season, new visitor support features have

been added to enhance the overall visitor

experience at the site. Working in cooperation with the National Park Service, the

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has developed a cast of an

Archaeotherium skeleton which will go on

display at the dig site this summer.

The cast will serve as an interpretative model

of the pig-like animals that once lived in the

area approximately 33 million years ago.

Tourists will be able to better visualize these

In addition, this project has benefited the

Museum of Geology by allowing stabilization

of the mounted skeleton that has been on

display for approximately 60 years. The

skeleton was in the process of breakdown

due to high temperatures (due to the lighting) and stress on the skeleton by the mount.

An additional cast will be made for remounting in the display at the Museum of Geology.

Did You

Know?

That four parks are the location for their respective

state fossils?

The state fossil of Arizona is Araucarioxylon

arizonicum which is found at Petrified Forest

National Park.

The fossil fish, Knightia eocaena, the state fossil of

Wyoming and is a common fossil at Fossil Butte

National Monument.

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is the

home of the Smithsonian Horse Quarry” where

over 200 individuals of the “Hagerman Horse”,

Equus simplidens, the Idaho State Fossil have been

found.

John Day Fossil Beds in Oregon contains many

fossils of the fossil dawn redwood, Metasequoia,

the state fossil of Oregon.
8 Park Paleontology

Papers Given At Recent Meetings

The following papers and abstracts by NPS

staff were presented at the Sixth Fossil Resource Conference held in Grand Junction,

Colorado, September 10-14, 2001.

Papers

Benton, R.C., E. Evanoff, C.L. Herbel, and D.O.

Terry Jr. 2001. Baseline Mapping of fossil bone

beds at Badlands National Park. Proceedings of

the 6th Fossil Resource Conference. V.L. Santucci

and L. McClelland (eds.). Geological Resources

Division Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/

01:85-94.

Fiorillo, A.R., V.L. Santucci, and R.A. Gangloff.

2001. Establishing baseline paleontological

resource data for research and management

needs: Lessons learned from the National Park

Service Alaska Region. Proceedings of the 6th Fossil

Resource Conference. V.L. Santucci and L.

McClelland (eds.). Geological Resources Division

Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/01:123-129.

Gibbons, S. and H.G. McDonald. 2001. Fossil

sites as National Natural Landmarks: Recognition

as an approach to protection of an important

resource. Proceedings of the 6th Fossil Resource

Conference. V.L. Santucci and L. McClelland

(eds.). Geological Resources Division Technical

Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/01:130-136.

Hunt, A.P. and V.L. Santucci. 2001. An unusual

tetrapod tack morphology from the Permian

Coconino Sandstone, Grand Canyon National

Park, Arizona. Proceedings of the 6th Fossil

Resource Conference. V.L. Santucci and L.

McClelland (eds.). Geological Resources Division

Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/01:44-47.

Scott, R.L., V.L. Santucci, and T. Connors. 2001.

An inventory of paleontological resources from

the national parks and monuments in Colorado.

Proceedings of the 6th Fossil Resource Conference. V.L. Santucci and L. McClelland (eds.).

Geological Resources Division Technical Report

NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/01:178-202.

Abstracts

Bell, G.L. Jr. 2001. Guadalupian Series, a global

stratotype section (GSSP) for the Middle Permian

in Guadalupe Mountains, National Park, Texas.

Benton, R.C., E. Evanoff, C.L. Herbel, and D.O.

Terry Jr. Baseline mapping of fossil bone beds at

Badlands National Park: a first in park history.

Benton, R.C. Fossils and fire: a case study in

Badlands National Park.

Connors, T. National Park Service Geologic

Resource Inventory.

Cook, A. H.W. Meyer, and B.A. Drummond.

Demonstration of a new database to update the

taxonomy of fossil insects and plants from

Florissant, Colorado.

Elder, A.S. How paleo collections can compete

with other disciplines for cataloging money or

what I learned as a SEPA panel member.

Foss, S.E. and V.J. Naylor. Fossil resources at

Scotts Bluff National Monument: a recent paleontological survey of the Orellan White River

Beds.

Foss, S.E. and T.J. Fremd. Partners in managing

fossil resources in the John Day Basin.

Fremd, T.J. Collaborative science in temporally

extensive basins.

Fremd, T.J. and S.J. Rickabaugh. Preliminary

paleontological reconnaissance of the Frederika

Formation, Wrangell - St. Elias Mountains,

Alaska.

Fremd, T.J. Viewing the Miocene from the

“Anthropocene”: cultural interference in natural

areas with “Deep Time” perspectives.

Gensler, P.A. , B. Lorkowski, and N. Farmer. A

three-dimensional correlation between depositional environments and fossil localities at

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument,

southern Idaho.

Grenard, D.G., H.W. Meyer, T.W. Henry, E.

Evanoff, and D. Vardiman. The Gold Belt National Scenic Byway, Colorado: a partnership for

geological interpretation.

King, J., T.J. Fremd, and J. Zancanella. Sorefoot

Creek Locality: Combining vertebrate paleontology research, education, and stewardship.

Lutz-Ryan, L.C., H.W. Meyer, and P. Thorpe.

Project P.I.C.K.: a partnership for paleontological

education resource management and research.

Madsen, S.K., G.E. Burroughs, and A.S. Elder.

Silica and respirable dust exposures in the field

and lab - a case study.

Meyer, H.W. Sharing paleontological resource

management ideas across international boundaries.

Miller, S.J. and R. Knudson. The Stenomylus

Quarry at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument:

history, science, and resource management.

Prado V., I. and H.W. Meyer. Paleontological

Resources in Peru.

Rodeck, J.H., H.W. Meyer, and T.A. Ulrich. New

shelters for the protection of petrified trees at

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Santucci, V.L. Paleontological resource inventories in the national parks.

Smith, M.E., T.J. Fremd, L. M. Vella and S.E.

Foss. The role of the conservation laboratory in

the preservation and curation of fossil resources.

Vella, L. M. , S.E. Foss, and T.J. Fremd. Efficient

and accurate paleontological research and

curation using data links.

The following papers based on research done

in national parks were presented at the 2001

annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate

Paleontology held at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Abstracts of the

papers were published in the supplement to

the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21(3).

Benton, R.C. Comparative taphonomy of

Holocene microvertebrate faunas preserved in

fissure fill versus shelter cave deposits.

Black, S.A., C.L. Herbel, and R.C. Benton. Bone

Beds in the Lower Scenic Member, Brule Formation (Oligocene), Badlands National Park, South

Dakota.

Chure, D.J. A new sauropod with a well preserved skull from the Cedar Mountain Fm.

(Cretaceous) of Dinosaur National Monument,

UT.

Fiorillo, A.R. and H. Montgomery. Depositional

setting and paleoecological significance of a

new sauropod bonebed in the Javelina Formation (Cretaceous) of Big Bend Park, Texas.

Fremd, T.J. Assemblages and interbasin correlations in the Pacific Northwest.

Hadly, E.A., C.J. Conroy, and J.M. Zinck. Genetic variation of montane voles: the present is

not a key to the past.

Sankey, J.T. Late Cretaceous theropod dinosaurs from new microvertebrate sites, Big Bend

National Park, Texas.

Wagner, J.R., and T.M. Lehman. A new species

of Kritosaurus from the Cretaceous of Big Bend

National Park, Brewster County, Texas.

Papers presented at the North American Paleontological Convention held at the University of

California, Berkeley June 26 - July 1, 2001

published in Program and Abstracts North

American Paleontological Convention. PaleoBios

21 (2) supplement.

Albright, L.B., T.J. Fremd, M.O. Woodburne,

C.C. Swisher, and B.J. MacFadden. Toward a

revision of the chronostratigraphy of the John

Day Formation, Oregon.

Bell, G.L. Jr. and C.J. Crow. Fabric patterns of

the Permian (Guadalupian) Middle and Upper

Capitan Reef, Texas and New Mexico, USA: a

progress report.
Park Paleontology 9

Recent Literature on Park Paleontology

Resources

Publication

Evanoff, E., K.M. Gregory-Wodzicki, and K.R. Johnson (eds.) 2001.

Fossil flora and stratigraphy of the Florissant Formation, Colorado.

Proceedings of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science Series 4,

Number 1: 216 pp.

Santucci, V.L., J. Kenworthy, and R. Kerbo. 2001. An inventory of

paleontological resources associated with National Park Service

caves. Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/02:50 pp.

Proceedings of the 6th Fossil Resource Conference. 2001. V. L.

Santucci and L. McClelland (eds.). Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/

GRDTR-01/01

Available from

Available for purchase from the Denver Museum of Nature and

Science. 2001 Colorado, Blvd. Denver, Colorado 80205-5798

303 370-6444 (www.dmns.org). Cost is $19.95, with a $4.95

shipping charge for the first copy and an additional shipping

charge of $1.00 for each additional copy

Can be obtained by contacting either the Cave Resource Coordinator or Paleontology Program Coordinator, Geologic Resources Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 25287, Denver,

Colorado 80225

Can be obtained by contacting the Paleontology Program

Coordinator, Geologic Resources Division, National Park Service,

P.O. Box 25287, Denver, Colorado 80225

Bryant, H.N. and T.J. Fremd. The evolutionary

history of the Nimravidae (Carnivora) in the John

Day Basin of Oregon.

Bryant, L, M. O’Neill, L. Kuizon, H.G. McDonald,

S. Shelton, and T.J Fremd. Fossil futures: preserving fossils from public lands - panel discussion with representatives of federal land management agencies.

Foss, S.E. and T.J. Fremd. Biostratigraphy of the

Entelodontidae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from

the John Day Basin, Oregon.

Fremd, T.J. Appraising the significance of complex assemblages and data defragmentation: an

example from the volcaniclastics of eastern

Oregon.

Hannibal, J.T. and H.G. McDonald. Threedimensionally preserved specimens of the crayfish Pacifastacus and crayfish gastroliths from

the Pliocene of Idaho.

Hanson, D.A. and T.J. Fremd. A John Day stepchild - the southern basin faunal assemblages.

Kohn, M.J., J. Miselis, and T.J. Fremd. Oxygen

isotope systematics of fossil equid teeth from

central and southeastern Oregon over the last

27 ma.

Lander, B.E. and T.J. Fremd. Late Whitneyan,

Arikareean, and earliest Hemingfordian

oreodonts (Mammalia: Artiodactyla:

Agriochoeridae and Oreodontidae) from the

John Day Formation of central Oregon.

Martin, J.E. and T.J. Fremd. Revision of the

lithostratigraphy of the Hemphillian Rattlesnake

units of central Oregon.

Meyer, H.W. and S. Manchester. The Oligocene

Bridge Creek Flora, John Day Formation, Oregon.

Pajak, A.F. III, T.J. Fremd, and D. Hoy.

Microvertebrates from a new Arikareean local

fauna, John Day Formation, Oregon, with biostratigraphic and taphonomic implications.

Smith, M.E., T.J. Fremd, and R.C. Wood. Discovery of a cranium of Stylemys (Reptilia: Chelonia) from the Turtle Cove Member of the John

Day Formation, central Oregon.

Zancanella, J., S.E. Foss, and T.J. Fremd. Interagency cooperative management of fossil resources in the John Day Basin, Oregon.

The current members of the John Day Associates at the North American Paleontological Convention, Berkeley, California, June 2001. Originally started by J.C. Merriam when he realized that the research possibilities surpassed his scientific abilities and lifespan, the John Day Associates are a group of research scientists who study the paleobiology, paleopedology, paleoecology, geology, paleobiogeography, geochronology, and paleogeochronology of John Day Basin Deposits. A symposium entitled: Cenozoic Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the John Day Basin, Oregon USA featured 18 papers that brought to bear the

latest advancements in the knowledge of paleontology and geology in the John Day Basin.

Papers presented at the Annual Meetings of the

Geological Society of America, Boston, Massachusetts, November 1-10, 2001.

Crow, C.J. and G.L. Bell Jr. Vertical growth form

of Gigantospongia: a new lithologic reef fabric

from the Middle Capitan Limestone (Permian:

Guadalupian), West Texas, USA. Geological

Society of America, Abstracts 33(6):A-13.

Lutz-Ryan, L.C., H.W. Meyer, A. Kinchloe, and

P. Thorpe. Project P.I.C.K.: A Partnership for

Paleontological Education, Resource Management, and Research. Geological Society of

America, Abstracts 33(6):A-34.
10 Park Paleontology

Summary –

Survey of Fossils in Parks

Greg McDonald

Paleontology Program Coordinator

Geologic Resources Division

National Park Service

Denver, Colorado

The paleontology program conducted a

survey of parks to determine what is needed

to help parks provide better care for their

fossil resources and aid in establishing program priorities. The summary to the paleo

survey provided below is based on responses

from 141 parks. Eighty-three parks indicated

they had fossil resources but only 20 indicated that fossils were specifically mentioned

in the park’s General Management Plan

(GMP).

Only 3 parks in the survey have filled out the

standard NPS fossil locality form for all

known fossil localities within the park, but 22

parks have indicated that fossils sites are one

of the layers in the park GIS.

Eighteen parks have partnerships (MOU,

MOA or Cooperative Agreements) with

universities or museums related to their fossil

resources.

Fossils are mentioned or included in interpretative programs at 41 parks.

The status of fossils in park collections need

to be reexamined. While only 31 parks said

that they have fossils catalogued in ANCS+ at

the park, 42 said their fossils were properly

stabilized, preserved and stored. Thirtyeight parks have fossils from the park housed

in non-NPS repositories.

Currently there are 32 parks which have

issued research permits related to fossils in

the park but only 8 parks have identified

research needs related to paleontology in the

new automated research permit system.

In response to the question as to park needs

for technical assistance with its fossil resources, 77 indicated that they did need

specific types of technical assistance and 58

parks indicated that they needed assistance

in writing PMIS statements to secure funding for projects related to its fossil resources.

Specific needs are as follows:

Scoping to Identify Park Needs 59

Protection 20

Stabilization 13

Inventory and Monitoring 59

Collection and Storage 28

Interpretation 32

Facilitating Research 38

Other (Finding/Locating Sites) 2

Interested in helping parks with their paleontological resources?

The Geoscientists in Parks (GIP) program is

looking for individuals interested in helping

parks with their paleontological resources in

the areas of research, resource management

and interpretation. Positions are listed at the

web site http://www2.nature.nps.gov/grd/

geojob/index.htm

To apply for a research permit at any park

you can access the application on line at

http://science.nature.nps.gov/research

Additional Reading

Bayless, J. and N. Henderson. 2001. The Online Launch is Up. Park Science 21(1):39-40.

Map showing National Park Service units that have fossils. The current list of parks totals 150.

Florissant Fossil Beds

National Monument Participates in Colorado

Digitization Project

Herbert W. Meyer

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

P.O. Box 185

Florissant, CO 80816-0185

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

has spent the past two years as a primary

partner in a project sponsored and funded by

the Colorado Digitization Project (CDP). As

a partner in this project, it has been possible

to expand the digitized literature and collections data for the Monument’s new databases

and website.

Literature and collections dealing with the

Florissant fossils are widely scattered. There

are about 40,000 specimens in 20 museums

in North America and Europe. Almost all of

these are non-NPS collections that were

made during the later 1800s and early 1900s,

and were described in about 500 publications. In a previous project, the Monument’s

paleontologist visited all of the important

museums with Florissant collections in order

to compile collections data and complete

photography. Each specimen was then correlated with every publication that had referenced the specimen. These collections and

publications include all of the type specimens upon which the 1,700 species from

Florissant are based, almost all of which are

unique to this site. It is important to compile

and integrate this information into an accessible database in order to facilitate research.

During the CDP portion of the project, the

Monument was able to scan 4,000 of the

12,000 pages of relevant publications and

over 7,000 photographic slides of type and

published fossils. These digital images have

been added to the database archives, and it

will be possible to directly correlate a fossil’s

catalog data with the new photographic

images as well as the digitized copies of the

publication pages on which the fossil was

described. Many of these fossils, even the

type specimens, were never illustrated in

publication, and are available as photographic images for the first time in the new

database. This new integrative database

provides the capability to conduct fully integrated searches to access both collections

and publications. This makes it possible to

easily retrieve information and to conduct

complex inquiries about the taxonomic

diversity of the paleontological resources

from Florissant. The participation in the

CDP project has also made all of the

Monument’s data available to the CDP master database, which assures that the data will

be protected in a non-NPS data repository.
Park Paleontology 11

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM

Park Paleontology is published intermittently each

year by the Geologic Resources Division. It is

available as a PDF file on the Internet at

http:www2.nature.nps.gov/grd/geology/paleo/

news/newsletter.htm

Copies may be printed from the internet for free

distribution.

Editor

Greg McDonald

Contributors

Rachel C. Benton

Anthony R. Fiorillo

Philip A. Gensler

Carrie L. Herbel

Daniel Lien

Herbert W. Meyer

William G. Parker

Eddie B. Robertson

Comments? Write to:

Greg McDonald

Geologic Resources Division

National Park Service

P.O. Box 25287

Denver, Colorado 80225

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Natural Resource Program Center

Geologic Resources Division

Paleontology Program

P.O. Box 25287

Denver, Colorado 80225

303 969-2821

First Class Mail

Postage and Fees

P A I D

Denver, CO

G-83

Skull of the entelodont Daeodon (formerly known as Dinohyus ) found at Agate Fossil Beds from the

collections of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CM 1594). Illustration from Peterson (1909)