Hanksville-Burpee Quarry is a

paleontological Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

excavation site approximately wide by long near

Hanksville, Utah Hanksville is a small town in Wayne County, Utah, Wayne County, Utah, United States, at the junction of State Routes Utah State Route 24, 24 and Utah State Route 95, 95. The population was 219 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Sit ...

, US, where scientists have found a large mix of remains of

sauropods Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

, trees, freshwater clams and other species dating between 145 million years ago to 150 million years ago. The mixed assortment of remains deposited in this one location provide a unique opportunity to scientists to study the

paleoecology Paleoecology (also spelled palaeoecology) is the study of interactions between organisms and/or interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales. As a discipline, paleoecology interacts with, depends on and informs ...

of the area in the late

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

period. In June 2008, following three weeks of excavation, paleontologists from the Burpee Museum of Natural History and

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

announced major discoveries made at the site, including a probable ''

Stegosaurus ''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been fo ...

'', four sauropods and at least two carnivorous

dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

. The researchers expressed confidence that future excavations at the site would come to rival those produced from

Dinosaur National Monument Dinosaur National Monument is an American national monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green River (Colorado River tributary), Green and Yampa River, Y ...

and the

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry Jurassic National Monument, at the site of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found, is a paleontological site located near Cleveland, Utah, in the San Rafa ...

, two major sources of giant Jurassic reptile remains. The site is located on federal land overseen by the United States

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

and is part of the

Morrison Formation The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltston ...

, which is a significant source for the largest known dinosaur remains.

Paleogeographic Palaeogeography (or paleogeography) is the study of historical geography, generally physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural environments. When the focus is specifically on landforms, the term paleo ...

evidence indicates that the Hanksville-Burpee Quarry area was situated at the bend of a large river during a time of sediment deposition. Researchers point to the large number of animal remains collected at the single location, and suggest the river bend acted as a trap for carcasses of large animals that died upriver and were carried downstream by high waters.

References

* * * * *

External links

Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry
official website, archive

Jurassic geology of Utah Jurassic paleontological sites of North America Morrison Formation Paleontology in Utah Protected areas of Wayne County, Utah Bureau of Land Management areas in Utah {{Utah-geo-stub