Sunday, July 12, 2015

Happy Birthday, Bennett!!

Cam here wanted to wish Bennett a happy birthday, but due to an unforeseen extinction was unable to do so in person. Sorry about that. I made sure to give him a hat so he could celebrate with you anyway.

Cam is a camarasaur from the Morrison formation in Jensen, Utah, at Dinosaur National Monument. He was one of many dinosaurs left in the wall by scientists for the public to come and visit, though many of his friends were removed and are currently in the collections at Utah State University.

Camarasaurs are the most common dinosaur from the Jurassic period, representing about 1/5 of the preserved dinosaurs known. The name means "chambered lizard" due to all of the air pockets found in the bones. The skull of one of these guys was mistakenly placed on an apatosaur many years ago, leading to the commonly known but now invalid name "brontosaurus." The cool thing about Dinosaur National Monument, however, is that the well articulated specimens of multiple sauropods here led to a better understanding of the animals and that name change. The site is also a contemporary of Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, though likely better represents the ecosystem of the time. It is definitely a little less of a mystery; it is understood that it represents a river system that flooded after a drought, washing carcasses that were partially decomposed into a 'log jam' of bones. This likely happened a few times.

People are frequently confused by the fact that it quarry is basically a wall of bones. As in, there is a pile of bones and logs towering over them when they walk in. Originally though, that wall was flat on the ground and tilted up because of plate tectonics. Things change with time.

So now, my buddy Cam here is at the top of wall for all to see. And sending Bennett a very, very happy birthday from millions of years in the past to now.

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My Story (Very briefly...)

Lots of people claim that they wanted to be paleontologists at the age of 3. So did I. The problem is, I never really grew out of it. My third birthday party had dinosaurs. Everywhere. I grew up digging in fossil dirt from Aurora, NC, looking for coral and shark teeth. I practically lived at my local science museums (and still do, only now I get to do research, fossil preparation, and work in collections!) When local paleontologists discovered a dinosaur with a "fossilized heart" (no longer considered such) when I was little, I got to meet the man who led the work. And then, years later a dinosaur bone with soft tissue turned up. I was officially hooked.
No longer was I dreaming about dinosaurs. I was actively pursuing the science behind prehistoric creatures. I didn't want to read about it, I wanted in on the action. So I started working at the museum, and finally going on my own adventures. And thus, I needed a place to share them and maybe inspire others the way I was inspired. I have gone from watching fossils be prepared from one side of the glass at the museum to working on them on the inside of the glass. I am a student working toward my goal. I can finally start to call myself a paleontologist.