Dr. Alan Titus lectures on tyrannosaur fossils in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
By Emily Schrepf
Dr. Alan Titus will present “Phoenix from the Ashes: A Tyrannosaur Mass Mortality from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.” The talk will provide an overview of what exactly a tyrannosaur is while taking a detailed look at the amazing Rainbows and Unicorns Bonebed fossil treasure trove and attempting to explain how such a remarkable deposit was created. The lecture will be given April 23 at 7 p.m. in room 113 of DSU’s science building in St. George. The lecture is free and open to the pubic.
The finding of a single tyrannosaur ankle bone in a remote badlands area of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument led to the discovery of one of the most prolific, scientifically important Cretaceous Era dinosaur sites ever found in Utah. To date, the remains of possibly hundreds of turtles and fish, several small raptor dinosaurs, hadrosaurs, and a minimum of four tyrannosaurs similar to T-Rex (probably Teratophoneus curriei) have been excavated from the site. Known as the Rainbows and Unicorns Bonebed, it is the only site in the southwestern U.S. to yield substantial remains of multiple tyrannosaurs and only the second Campanian Era tyrannosaur bonebed ever found in North America.
Titus began his tenure as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s paleontologist in 2000 where he continues to advance and support the rich paleontology within the monument. Titus received his doctorate from Washington State in 1996, the year the monument was established. In July of 2014, Alan discovered the toe and partial skull of a tyrannosaur at a previously discovered turtle site. Further excavation indicated the treasure trove of fossils highlighted in this talk.
The lecture is provided by Grand Staircase Escalante Partners and Utah Friends of Paleontology, Southwest Chapter.
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