Paleontology in Nevada

state of Nevada

Paleontology in Nevada refers to

The earliest fossils from the state are from Esmeralda County, and are Late Proterozoic in age and represent stromatolite reefs of cyanobacteria, amongst these reefs were some of the oldest known shells in the fossil record, the Cloudina-fauna. Much of the Proterozoic and Paleozoic fossil story of Nevada is that of a warm, shallow, tropical sea, with a few exceptions towards the Late Paleozoic. As such many fossils across the state are those of marine animals, such as trilobites, brachiopods, bryozoans, honeycomb corals, archaeocyaths, and horn corals.

After the Paleozoic, tectonic activity on the western margin of North America increased. This increase in tectonism forced portions of Nevada formerly below sea level higher. In the Triassic northern and central Nevada were shallow seaways between mountainous island arcs, while in southern Nevada the same story as

Shonisaurus popularis

! While in the Jurassic and the Cretaceous dinosaurs and other land animals roamed the state.

After the Mesozoic in the Cenozoic the story of Nevada is one of extension. As the mountains the built while dinosaur were alive began to fall down under their own weight, and eventually the modern Basin and Range began. Early Cenozoic Paleogene records are rare, whereas Late Cenozoic Neogene records are plentiful across the state. These Neogene basins record a diverse mammalian biota including camels, horses, giant ground sloths, rhinos, tapirs, and other common Neogene taxa. During this time much of Nevada is also occupied by oak and redwood forests rather than the modern sagebrush steppe.

The

. From deposits of this period come mammoths, a mastodon from Elko County, sabre-toothed cats, dire wolves, giant short-faced bears, and most of the animals still running around the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts today.

Prehistory

Shonisaurus popularis

.

During the Late

Nevada's sea level continued to drop during the

During the

Mesozoic

Triassic 251-201 MA During the Triassic most of Central and Northern Nevada was a shallow tropical seaway. Famous ammonite localities occur from Esmeralda County north through Churchill County, into Humboldt County. The most famous of vertebrate inhabitants of this shallow seaway were ichthyosaurs, a diverse biota of Triassic ichthyosaurs has been found across the state, including the state fossil Shonisaurus. Recent finds have also included large highly carnivorous ichthyosaur species recently found in Pershing County. Ichthyosaurs in the Triassic of Nevada ranged from small porpoise size (Mixosaurs), to whale sized (Shonisaurs).

While the Central and Northern part of Nevada were marine, southern Nevada was on the edge of the continent. Many of the same geological formations found in other southwest states are also exposed in southern Nevada. The oldest of these is the Moenkopi Formation, which recently produced the oldest Mesozoic vertebrate tracks from the state of Nevada. Overlying the Moenkopi Fm is the Chinle Fm, which has produced some isolated

from the Spring Mountains, and abundant petrified wood where ever else it is exposed. These unit record the transition from tidal flats to swamping fluvial environments in southern Nevada during the Triassic.

History

Indigenous interpretations

Dinosaur footprint

.

The

There is additional evidence for knowledge of fossils among local indigenous peoples. The Paiute and

Scientific research

The first serious paleontological field work in Nevada prospected for fossils in the

Early in 1900 a new Nevada fossil site was discovered in the

In 1933, the Tule Springs Expedition, led by Fenley Hunter, was the first major effort to explore the archaeological importance of the area surrounding Tule Springs. The Tule Springs Archaeological Site contains ground sloths, mammoths, prehistoric horses and American camels and the first giant condors in Nevada.^[13][14]

Natural history museums and museums with significant Nevada Fossils

• Las Vegas^[15]
• Nevada State Museum, Carson City,^[16]
• W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum, Reno, Nevada
• Northeastern Nevada Museum, Elko, Nevada
• Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas,^[17]

• University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, California

Fossil Parks in Nevada

• Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park
• Ice Age Fossils State Park
• Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

See also

• Paleontology in Arizona
• Paleontology in California
• Paleontology in Idaho
• Paleontology in Oregon

Footnotes

References

• Home. Las Vegas Museum of Natural History. Accessed 12-31-12.
• Mayor, Adrienne. Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton University Press. 2005.
  ISBN 0-691-11345-9
  .
• Murray, Marian (1974). Hunting for Fossils: A Guide to Finding and Collecting Fossils in All 50 States. Collier Books. p. 348.
  ISBN 9780020935506
  .
• Nevada Facts and State Emblems. Nevada Legislature. Accessed 01-03-13.
• Noble, Paula, Judy Scotchmoor, Dale Springer. July 1, 2005. "Nevada, US." The Paleontology Portal. Accessed September 21, 2012.
• Visit Us. Marjorie Barrick Museum. Accessed 12-31-12.
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. 
  ISBN 0-520-24209-2
  .

External links

• Geologic units in Nevada
• Paleoportal: Nevada