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September
9, 2000
Camp 1
Gadafawa
11:30pm
Bizarre 600-toothed
dinosaur
Paul looks at
a finger of a new unnamed Pterosaur,
a flying reptile that had over a 20 foot
wingspan. Our first week in the
field has been spectacular! Remarkable
discoveries seem to be waiting for us around
every dune. On our first day, we found bones
of the long-necked dinosaur Nigersaurus.
Nigersaurus, you might remember,
we named for bones collected on the last
expedition here three years ago. This sauropod
(long-necked dinosaur) has an unusual skull
containing as many as 600 slender teeth.
A major goal of this expedition is to find
the rest of this unusual dinosaur so we
can describe it and reconstruct it for everyone
to see.
We are
closing in on that goal fast because we
came upon a skeleton a few days later!
This skeleton is lying on its side with
the tail curved upward. The curve of the
backbone measures about 15 feet. We carefully
brushed the sand off the 110 million-year-old
bones and dug channels between the major
areas of the skeleton. Soon we will cover
each area in plaster so that the skeleton
can be transported out of the field and
back to the laboratory.
The team
trenches around one of the Nigersaurus
fossils
But that's not all for
Nigersaurus. Chris took us all to
a flat area of purple-colored sandstone
where he had located the upper jaw of a
baby Nigersaurus-one that would fit
on top of a silver dollar! This Nigersaurus
was a hatchling, probably less than one
year from hatching when it died and was
fossilized.
This is part
of the jaw of a juvenile Nigersaurus,
a new long necked, plant eating dinosaur.
The fossil is less than three inches long
and this baby dinosaur probably died in
its first year, according to Paul Sereno.
A new carnivore
This is the
pelvic bone (pubis) of a new 110 million
year old predatory dinosaur that has not
been named yet.
While walking across a very flat area,
Gabe made a remarkable find-the bones
of a new meat-eating dinosaur lay partially
exposed at her feet. She brushed away
the sand from the upper jaw. Nearby lay
part of the backbone and the hip bones.
This was a mean customer-the bones are
from a skeleton that would measure about
30 feet long! We hope to find more evidence
of this sharp-toothed creature as the
field season goes on.
A huge crocodile
Chris found
a set of perfectly preserved lower jaws
of a 110 million year old crocodile,
Sarcosuchus. It would have been close
to forty feet long as shown by team members
laying on the gorund. Front to back are
Chris, Hans (front limbs), Allison, Paul
(rear limbs),
Dave, Jack and Gabe.
| We
are interested in finding more than
just dinosaurs. We want to find all
animals and plants that once lived
along the ancient streams and forests
110 million years ago. One of the
most common fossils we encountered
in the first week of work belong to
an enormous crocodile called Sarcosuchus.
This reptile
was far larger than any living crocodile.
Judging from the 6-foot skull we found
in the first week, we suspect it may
have measured over 40 feet long!
The armor plates on its back measured
a foot across. We even laid out the
team to get a sense of just how big
this animal was. |
Hans has been working
with a crew of Allison and Dave to excavate
a new site. As we dug around the skull,
we uncovered another juvenile skull of the
same species lying right next to the big
one. The carved a block of rock that included
both skulls, knowing full well that it
would weigh around 600 pounds when encased
in plaster.
So I think you might
agree that the first week here has been
a thriller.
Paul
Sereno
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