Current:Home > FinanceResearchers find fossils of rare mammal relatives from 180 million years ago in Utah-LoTradeCoin
Researchers find fossils of rare mammal relatives from 180 million years ago in Utah
View Date:2024-12-23 22:35:38
A group of researchers in Utah discovered rare fossils of herbivorous mammal relatives that lived in the area about 180 million years ago, according to the National Park Service.
The paleontologists were exploring fossil track sites in March at Glen Canyon National Park in Utah when they came upon the tritylodontid mammaliaform fossils, the park service said.
Tritylodontid mammaliaforms were herbivorous mammal-like creatures who lived in the Early Jurassic period, about 180 million years ago.
This discovery is significant because Lake Powell’s water level would usually cover the area where the fossils were found. However, paleontologists found it by being in the best location right before the snow melted and filled the lake.
What do tritylodontid mammaliaforms look like?
A group of paleontologists worked with an artist to create a rendering of how the rare mammal relatives may have looked. The image depicts several relatively small creatures with heads similar to a large rodents, who walk on four legs and with tails that are approximately the length of their torsos.
“These finds suggest early dinosaurs & mammal relatives were social,” the artist, Brian Engh, wrote on X.
Researchers collected several hundred pounds of rocks that contained fossils and fragments, according to the park service. The rocks will be scanned at the University of Utah South Jordan Health Center with X-ray computerized tomography (CT).
Then, they will be mechanically prepared and studied at the St. George Dinosaur Site at Johnson Farm (SGDS) with help from Petrified Forest National Park and the Smithsonian Institution.
Finally, they will be a part of the Glen Canyon NRA Museum collection on display at the Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah.
veryGood! (9632)
Related
- Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
- Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
- The Cowboys, claiming to be 'all in' prior to Dak Prescott's injury, are in a rare spot: Irrelevance
- Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Everglades Scientist Accused of Stealing ‘Trade Secrets’
- US Diplomats Notch a Win on Climate Super Pollutants With Help From the Private Sector
- What Happened to Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Character? John Dutton’s Fate Revealed
- Pete Rose fans say final goodbye at 14-hour visitation in Cincinnati
- Beyoncé's Grammy nominations in country categories aren't the first to blur genre lines
- Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco arrested again in Dominican Republic, according to reports
- Trump is likely to name a loyalist as Pentagon chief after tumultuous first term
Ranking
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- Pie, meet donuts: Krispy Kreme releases Thanksgiving pie flavor ahead of holidays
- NASCAR Cup Series Championship race 2024: Start time, TV, live stream, odds, lineup
- Fire crews gain greater control over destructive Southern California wildfire
- 12 college students charged with hate crimes after assault in Maryland
- Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
- Quincy Jones laid to rest at private family funeral in Los Angeles
- Trump is likely to name a loyalist as Pentagon chief after tumultuous first term
Recommendation
-
'Cowboy Carter' collaborators to be first country artists to perform at Rolling Loud
-
Diddy's ex-bodyguard sues rape accuser for defamation over claims of 2001 assault
-
Trump's election has women swearing off sex with men. It's called the 4B movement.
-
FSU football fires offensive, defensive coordinators, wide receivers coach
-
The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
-
Stock market today: Asian stocks decline as China stimulus plan disappoints markets
-
Young Black and Latino men say they chose Trump because of the economy and jobs. Here’s how and why
-
Don't Miss This Sweet Moment Between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Dads at the Kansas City Chiefs Game