(LINKS TO PAST FOSSIL FRIDAYS)

Community College (LRCCD)

Geology & Earth Science Instructor: Arthur Reed, P.G.

Happy Fossil Friday!

Friday October 29, 2021

Utah’s Early Permian yields up a potentially new taxon.

Following is a post today (October 29, 2021) by Petrified Forest National Park about a fossil recently found and removed in Canyonland National Park by paleontologists from University of Southern California, National Parks Service, and a nearby museum.

Last weekend, Petrified Forest National Park paleontologists were part of a team with the Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Southern California, and Canyonlands National Park that collected a rare ~290 million year old Permian-aged skeleton in the backcountry of Canyonlands NP, potentially representing a new species.

The specimen was in the bottom of a slickrock wash and was threatened by erosion with every monsoon rainstorm that flashed the canyon. The team held a permit to collect the fossil and determine its place within the Cedar Mesa Sandstone at Canyon Lands NP to estimate its geologic age and context.

A 13-mile round trip hike ended with a few sore backs and a broken pack strap, but the trip was a great success and was a great example of a collaboration between National Park Service paleontologists, park staff, and researchers from partner institutions.

The specimen will be cleaned and prepared at Petrified Forest NP and CT (computed tomography) scanned for further research, ultimately to be curated as a specimen in National Park Service fossil collections to be available for museum exhibits and scientific research. #parkscience #permian #fossil #FossilFriday.

Fossil wrapped and prepared for transport (I assume)