A field crew documenting fossil tracksites along a stretch of Lake Powell has discovered a bonebed of extremely rare fossils from the early Jurassic period. This marks the first tritylondontid grouping found in the Navajo Sandstone in Utah’s Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Scientists say it’s one of the most important fossil vertebrate discoveries in the United States this year. It includes body fossils like bones and teeth which are said to be rare in the sandstone formation.
Researchers and land managers believe the new discovery will shed light on the fossil history of the Lake Powell area as its shoreline becomes exposed in the changing climate. In a press release, the National Park Service said the site had been submerged by fluctuating water levels and was only found because the paleontologists were in the right place at the right time, just before annual snowmelt filled the lake.