A fossil discovery team was tracking an “extremely rare” set of prehistoric fossils. The fossils were discovered on the stretch of the reservoir in Utah near Lake Powell. The crew of paleontologists has been searching for these fossils since last spring. They came across a tritylodontid bonebed in the Navajo Sandstone in Utah which led to the search and discovery of these prehistoric fossils.
A news article was posted about these findings because nothing like this has ever been discovered, which was said by the National Parl Services. The park also called it “one of the more important fossil vertebrate discoveries in the United States this year.” These fossils found in the Navajo Sandstone included “body fossils” such as teeth, bones, and skull bones. This is very rare to be found in the Southern Utah Glen Canyon area.
“This new discovery will shed light on the fossil history exposed changing shorelines of Lake Powell.” the park service said. These fossils were discovered in March of 2023. While documenting the trackside where they found the fossils. The crew found a number of rare fossils such as actual bone fragments of tritylodontid mammaliaforms and impressions of bones. The creatures were associated with the Early Jurassic Period. The creatures were mammal relatives probably related to the herbivore community. They are thought to be from 180 million years ago which would be the first mammals to appear on Earth.
“The crew collected several hundred pounds of rocks encasing the fossil bones and skeletons at the site,” the agency said. The University of Utah has been researching them with X-ray and computerized tomography. The Petrified Forest National Park and the Smithsonian Institution have been supporting the college with their research and funding the investigations. The school has said that these fossils will help paleontologists learn more about early mammals and will help improve their research skills.
