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City Hall175 East 200 NorthSt. George, UT 84770(435) 627-4000
| May 17, 2008 |
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WHY ARE THE DINOSAUR DISCOVERIES IN ST. GEORGE, UTAH SO IMPORTANT?A “SNAPSHOT” OF AN EARLY JURASSIC ECOSYSTEM The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (SGDS) represents a “snapshot” of an Early Jurassic (~195 million year old) lake ecosystem at a time when the supercontinent called Pangaea was in its initial phase of break-up and dinosaurs were beginning their ascendancy to becoming the predominant land vertebrates of the Mesozoic Era. A RARE CONCENTRATION OF TRACE FOSSILS The SGDS is a rare geological instance of detailed preservation (paleontologically, a lagerstätte) of an Early Jurassic biota (fauna, flora, bacteria, and array of other organisms), preserving an unusual concentration of detailed trace fossils (ichnites) made by:
AN ASSOCIATION OF TRACE FOSSILS WITH BODY FOSSILS The SGDS is also unusual in having body fossils preserved in close proximity to the trace fossils. Organisms represented by body fossils include:
A RARE QUALITY OF PRESERVATION In addition to the above, the SGDS lagerstätte is unusual because of the quality of preservation, including skin impressions and other fine details of reptilian foot morphology (especially dinosaurs). A LARGE NUMBER OF TRACKS AND TRACK-BEARING HORIZONS The SGDS lagerstätte is furthermore unusual because of the number of tracks and track-bearing horizons. Thousands of tracks have been discovered in more than twenty different horizons. A LOOK AT ANCIENT ENVIRONMENTS The SGDS lagerstätte is furthermore unusual because it includes tracks made in different ancient environments, including:
AN EXAMINATION OF THE DIVERSITY OF LOCOMOTORY AND OTHER BEHAVIORS The SGDS lagerstätte is furthermore unusual because it exemplifies:
THE EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF SAUROPODS IN NORTH AMERICA The SGDS preserves the earliest known evidence of sauropod dinosaurs in North America: the next-oldest evidence on the continent is of Late Jurassic age (roughly 155 million years old), 40 million years after the SGDS tracks. A MEANS TO RECONSTRUCT AND UNDERSTAND AN ANCIENT ECOSYSTEM The presence of body fossils (plants and animals) from and in the vicinity of the SGDS, in tandem and correlative with the trace fossils, allows for unprecedented accuracy and detail in reconstructing and understanding Early Jurassic biota. A RARE EXAMINATION OF THE FOSSILIZATION OF FOOTPRINTS The presence of structures created by bacterial biofilms allows a rare examination and testing of the relationship between such biofilms and the preservation of trace fossils. THE MOST EXTENSIVE SWIM TRACK COLLECTION The SGDS has the most extensive and best preserved theropod dinosaur swim track collection in the world. AN INTRODUCTION TO GEOLOGY Because of the geological setting of the SGDS, it provides an opportunity to introduce patrons to, and educate patrons about, the diverse geology of the St. George area. A VALUABLE EXAMPLE OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY AND PALEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS The SGDS is unusual in the context of modern paleontology because, following its discovery by a local resident on the private property of his small farm, the site was preserved and developed for public and scientific benefit rather than sold piecemeal for profit or wholly ignored. The alternative would have destroyed its value to both the scientific community and the St. George area. This contrasts with the actions of many people regarding recent paleontological discoveries and conveys an important message to site patrons about how to deal with any paleontological resources they may encounter. |
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