The Tenontosaurus was a large ornithopod that walked on four legs and roamed during the Early Cretaceous period, around 110 to 120 million years ago. Believe it or not, the dinosaur wasn’t officially named or discovered until the 1960s when a team from Yale University began an extensive, long-term digging project in the Big Horn Basin area of Montana and Wyoming. Led by John Ostrom, the team discovered over 40 new specimens of the dinosaur and Ostrom was the first to describe and name it. But a new discovery, made by happenstance, may tell us a lot more about the species. Jason W. Ricketts, associate professor of University of Texas at El Paso’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, discovered a smattering of Tenontosaurus fossils, the largest part belonging to a femur leg bone.
According to Ricketts, he wasn’t actually out looking for fossils that day, instead he was doing unrelated field work. As he said in a press release, “I was studying the rocks in the area when I noticed fragments weathering out of soft shale. There was no need to excavate—I simply picked them up.” It’s difficult to imagine a series of fossils just lying around, but the discovery included mostly fragments. “It was an unexpected and exciting find, and my family even came out with me to help collect the pieces.” Now detailed in a paper published in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, the fossils provide some “significant scientific value,” revealing the Tenontosaurus ventured farther south than previously thought. Past discoveries commonly showed up north and west of Ricketts’ site, in Utah and Wyoming. But this discovery tells scientists that “Tenontosaurus lived as far south as West Texas.”
Why does it matter the Tenontosaurus traveled farther South?
While scientists can now surmise the Tenontosaurus ventured farther south into new regions, it also explains how they might have adapted to diverse environments at the time. Liz Walsh, interim dean of the UTEP College of Science, also notes that this discovery helps quantify the “importance of fieldwork and the role of dedicated researchers like Dr. Ricketts in uncovering new chapters of Earth’s history.” These fossil fragments would likely not have been found otherwise. “It’s also a reminder that major discoveries can happen when we least expect them.” Discoveries like this have happened before purely by accident. Maybe everyone should start looking down while out hiking or exploring?
The fossils are still being studied actively, but this might encourage others to begin searching West Texas for more paleontological opportunities. The area is not a common search spot for dinosaur fossils, at least not yet. There may be hidden discoveries out there in places we don’t normally look. While not in the field, a new species of dinosaur was discovered sitting in a jar that had been in a museum for 20 years. It shows that expanding common search opportunities may be beneficial. Like when newly found T. rex blood vessels were found in old fossils already on display. Combing unorthodox areas, like West Texas, might reveal some new mysteries. Worst case, we can always look to existing fossils on museum shelves.
