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'4 different kinds of dinosaur': A new discovery in southeastern Utah
FOX 13 News Utah • • science
Key Points:
- Paleontologists in southeastern Utah have uncovered fossils from at least four different dinosaur species, potentially including new species previously unknown to science.
- The excavation site near Moab is significant as it lies at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, a period marked by a mass extinction event that wiped out many famous Jurassic dinosaurs.
- The discovery supports a theory that an asteroid impact in the Pacific Ocean contributed to the Jurassic extinction, with the fossils representing early recovery species from the Cretaceous period.
- One newly identified dinosaur, named Cross Pelta deblieuxae in honor of assistant paleontologist Don DeBlieux, is an early armored and spiny Cretaceous ankylosaur.
- Researchers emphasize the scientific importance of these findings for understanding past climates, extinction events, and evolutionary history, while also highlighting the personal passion driving their paleontological work.
