Fona herzogae.
Credit: Jorge Gonzales
If you want to leave a fossil as evidence of your existence, live, or at least die, in a burrow.
If you want to refute creationism, arrange to die 99 million years before they believe the Universe existed.
That's what an otherwise unremarkable dinosaur that was about the size of a large dog, contrived to do in what is now Utah, USA. It, and its relatives, because so many of them died in their borrows, are preserved in exception detail compared to species that lived above ground where their bodies would have been scavenged and destroyed before they could be fossilised.
What information do you have on the small dinosaur, Fona herzogae, that lived in what is now Utah, USA? Fona herzogae is a relatively recent addition to the list of dinosaur discoveries. This small dinosaur was uncovered in what is now Utah, USA. Here are some key details about Fona herzogae:How this dinosaur was found and why the paleontologists think it lived in borrows, is the subject of an open access paper in The Anatomical Record and a press release from NC State University:
While specific details like the exact size, unique physical features, and more precise ecological interactions of Fona herzogae might still be under study, its discovery highlights the ongoing efforts to uncover and understand the vast diversity of life that once existed on Earth.
- Discovery and Location: Fossils of Fona herzogae were discovered in the sedimentary rock formations in Utah, which date back to the Early Cretaceous period. The exact location and context of the fossil find are crucial for understanding the paleoenvironment and associated fauna.
- Physical Description: Fona herzogae is described as a small dinosaur, suggesting it was likely bipedal and agile. As a herbivore, it probably had adaptations for feeding on the lush vegetation of its environment.
- Paleoecology: The environment of Early Cretaceous Utah would have been quite different from today, with a variety of plants and other dinosaurs. Fona herzogae would have been part of a diverse ecosystem, possibly living alongside other herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs.
- Scientific Significance: The discovery of Fona herzogae adds to the growing understanding of dinosaur diversity in North America during the Early Cretaceous. Each new species discovered helps paleontologists’ piece together the evolutionary history and ecological dynamics of prehistoric times.
Tell me about the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA, where Fona herzogae fossils are found.
The Cedar Mountain Formation is a geologic formation located in eastern Utah, USA, known for its rich fossil deposits, particularly from the Early Cretaceous period. Here are some key details about the Cedar Mountain Formation:
Overall, the Cedar Mountain Formation is a significant paleontological site that offers valuable information about the Early Cretaceous period and the diversity of life that existed in what is now Utah.
- Geological Age and Composition:
- Age: The Cedar Mountain Formation spans a significant portion of the Early Cretaceous, roughly from the Aptian to Albian stages, approximately 125 to 100 million years ago.
- Composition: The formation consists of a variety of sedimentary rocks, including mudstones, sandstones, siltstones, and shales. These rocks were deposited in various environments such as rivers, floodplains, and lakes.
- Stratigraphy:
- The Cedar Mountain Formation is divided into several members, each representing different depositional environments and time periods. The primary members, from oldest to youngest, include:
- Mussentuchit Member: Known for its rich fossil content and representing a later phase of the formation.
- Ruby Ranch Member: Characterized by fluvial deposits.
- Yellow Cat Member: Contains a significant amount of dinosaur fossils and represents earlier depositional environments within the formation.
- Paleontology and Fossil Discoveries:
- The Cedar Mountain Formation is renowned for its diverse dinosaur fauna. Numerous significant dinosaur fossils have been discovered here, including:
- Sauropods: Large, long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs such as Abydosaurus and Venenosaurus.
- Theropods: Predatory dinosaurs including Utahraptor, one of the largest known dromaeosaurids.
- Ornithopods: Bipedal herbivores like Iguanodon and Tenontosaurus.
- Other Dinosaurs: The formation has also yielded fossils of ankylosaurs (armored dinosaurs) and other smaller herbivores.
- Apart from dinosaurs, the Cedar Mountain Formation has provided fossils of plants, invertebrates, and other vertebrates, giving a comprehensive picture of the ecosystem during the Early Cretaceous.
- Paleoenvironment:
- The paleoenvironment of the Cedar Mountain Formation varied over time and space but generally included river systems, floodplains, and lake margins. This variety of habitats supported a rich and diverse array of life.
- The presence of well-preserved plant fossils indicates lush vegetation, which would have provided food and shelter for herbivorous dinosaurs and other animals.
- Scientific Importance:
- The Cedar Mountain Formation is crucial for understanding the transition between the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods in North America. It provides insights into the evolution and diversity of dinosaurs during the Early Cretaceous.
- Ongoing research in this formation continues to yield new species and contributes to our understanding of ancient ecosystems, climate, and geological processes.
How can geologists be sure of the age of this formation?
Geologists determine the age of formations like the Cedar Mountain Formation using several methods:These methods combined give a comprehensive and accurate age for the formation.
- Radiometric Dating: This technique involves dating volcanic ash layers within the formation. By measuring the decay of radioactive isotopes, geologists can determine the absolute age of these layers.
- Fossil Correlation: Identifying and dating fossils within the formation helps correlate the age with other well-dated fossil assemblages.
- Stratigraphy: Analyzing the sequence of rock layers and their relationships helps establish a relative timeline.
- Paleomagnetism: Studying the magnetic properties of rocks can provide age information based on historical changes in Earth's magnetic field.
Life Underground Suited New Dinosaur Fine
The age of dinosaurs wasn’t conducted solely above ground. A newly discovered ancestor of Thescelosaurus shows evidence that these animals spent at least part of their time in underground burrows. The new species contributes to a fuller understanding of life during the mid-Cretaceous – both above and below ground.
The new dinosaur, Fona [/Foat’NAH/] herzogae lived 99 million years ago in what is now Utah. At that time, the area was a large floodplain ecosystem sandwiched between the shores of a massive inland ocean to the east and active volcanoes and mountains to the west. It was a warm, wet, muddy environment with numerous rivers running through it.
Paleontologists from North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences unearthed the fossil – and other specimens from the same species – in the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, beginning in 2013. The preservation of these fossils, along with some distinguishing features, alerted them to the possibility of burrowing.
Fona was a small-bodied, plant-eating dinosaur about the size of a large dog with a simple body plan. It lacks the bells and whistles that characterize its highly ornamented relatives such as horned dinosaurs, armored dinosaurs, and crested dinosaurs. But that doesn’t mean Fona was boring.
Fona shares several anatomical features with animals known for digging or burrowing, such as large bicep muscles, strong muscle attachment points on the hips and legs, fused bones along the pelvis – likely to help with stability while digging – and hindlimbs that are proportionally larger than the forelimbs. But that isn’t the only evidence that this animal spent time underground.
The bias in the fossil record is toward bigger animals, primarily because in floodplain environments like the Mussentuchit, small bones on the surface will often scatter, rot away, or become scavenged before burial and fossilization. “But Fona is often found complete, with many of its bones preserved in the original death pose, chest down with splayed forelimbs, and in exceptionally good condition,” Avrahami says. “If it had already been underground in a burrow before death, it would have made this type of preservation more likely.
Haviv M. Avrahami, first author North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
And digital technician for the new Dueling Dinosaurs program
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
3D printed skull of Fona herzogae.Credit: Lindsay Zanno
Lindsay Zanno, associate research professor at NC State, head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and corresponding author of the work, agrees.
Fona skeletons are way more common in this area than we would predict for a small animal with fragile bones. The best explanation for why we find so many of them, and recover them in small bundles of multiple individuals, is that they were living at least part of the time underground. Essentially, Fona did the hard work for us, by burying itself all over this area.
Associate Professor Lindsay E. Zanno, co-author
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Head of Palaeontology
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Although the researchers have yet to identify the subterranean burrows of Fona, the tunnels and chamber of its closest relative, Oryctodromeus, have been found in Idaho and Montana. These finds support the idea that Fona also used burrows.
The genus name Fona comes from the ancestral creation story of the Chamorro people, who are the indigenous populations of Guam and the Pacific Mariana Islands. Fo’na and Pontan were brother and sister explorers who discovered the island and became the land and sky. The species name honors Lisa Herzog, the paleontology operations manager at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, for her invaluable contributions and dedication to the field of paleontology.
Lisa Herzog examines Fona bones.Image: NC State University
I wanted to honor the indigenous mythology of Guam, which is where my Chamorro ancestors are from. In the myth, Fo’na became part of the land when she died, and from her body sprung forth new life, which to me, ties into fossilization, beauty, and creation. Fona was most likely covered in a downy coat of colorful feathers. The species name is for Lisa Herzog, who has been integral to all this work and discovered one of the most exceptional Fona specimens of several individuals preserved together in what was likely a burrow.
Haviv M. Avrahami.
Fona is also a distant relative of another famous North Carolina fossil: Will, a Thescelosaurus neglectus specimen currently housed at the museum and also thought to have adaptations for a semifossorial – or partially underground – lifestyle, research that was published late in 2023 by Zanno and former NC State postdoctoral researcher David Button.
The researchers believe Fona is key to expanding our understanding of Cretaceous ecosystems.T. neglectus was at the tail end of this lineage – Fona is its ancestor from about 35 million years prior.
Haviv M. Avrahami.
Fona gives us insight into the third dimension an animal can occupy by moving underground. It adds to the richness of the fossil record and expands the known diversity of small-bodied herbivores, which remain poorly understood despite being incredibly integral components of Cretaceous ecosystems.
Haviv M. Avrahami.
People tend to have a myopic view of dinosaurs that hasn’t kept up with the science. We now know that dinosaur diversity ran the gamut from tiny arboreal gliders and nocturnal hunters, to sloth-like grazers, and yes, even subterranean shelterers.
Associate Professor Lindsay E. Zanno.
The work appears in The Anatomical Record. Peter Makovicky of the University of Minnesota and Ryan Tucker of Stellenbosch University also contributed to the work.
Just another in the daily parade of science papers that casually refute creationism by revealing facts radically different to those claimed by the creationist cult based on nothing more that the ignorant guess work of Bronze Age Canaanite pastoralists who thought the Universe was a small flat planet with a dome over it that contained nothing that was unknown to those same ignorant pastoralists.Abstract
Thescelosaurines are a group of early diverging, ornithischian dinosaurs notable for their conservative bauplans and mosaic of primitive features. Although abundant within the latest Cretaceous ecosystems of North America, their record is poor to absent in earlier assemblages, leaving a large gap in our understanding of their evolution, origins, and ecological roles. Here we report a new small bodied thescelosaurine—Fona herzogae gen. et sp. nov.—from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA. Fona herzogae is represented by multiple individuals, representing one of the most comprehensive skeletal assemblages of a small bodied, early diverging ornithischian described from North America to date. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Fona as the earliest member of Thescelosaurinae, minimally containing Oryctodromeus, and all three species of Thescelosaurus, revealing the clade was well-established in North America by as early as the Cenomanian, and distinct from, yet continental cohabitants with, their sister clade, Orodrominae. To date, orodromines and thescelosaurines have not been found together within a single North American ecosystem, suggesting different habitat preferences or competitive exclusion. Osteological observations reveal extensive intraspecific variation across cranial and postcranial elements, and a number of anatomical similarities with Oryctodromeus, suggesting a shared semi-fossorial lifestyle.
1 INTRODUCTION
Thescelosaurines were a group of small to medium-sized, plant-eating dinosaurs that inhabited North America during the Late Cretaceous (Norman, Sues, et al., 2004). Members of the clade are characterized by bipedal locomotion, an elongated rostrum bearing a keratinous rhamphotheca, leaf-shaped cheek teeth and semi-conical premaxillary teeth (Boyd, 2014), shortened forelimbs (Senter & Mackey, 2023), ribcages overlain with ossified plates (Boyd et al., 2011), and neurosensory systems adapted for low-to-the ground posture and possible semi-fossorial behavior (Button & Zanno, 2023.1). More broadly, thescelosaurines preserve a primitive bauplan reminiscent of the earliest ornithischian lineages (Baron, 2019; Baron et al., 2017; Sereno, 1997; Weishampel, 2004.1) and are important for polarizing evolutionary transitions such as resting or burial posture (Yang et al., 2020), dietary transitions (Allison et al., 2019.1; Barrett et al., 2011.1; Becerra et al., 2022; Salgado et al., 2017.1), respiratory adaptations (Bourke et al., 2014.1; Radermacher et al., 2021), burrowing behavior (Varricchio et al., 2007), body size evolution (Norman, 2004.2; Norman, Sues, et al., 2004; Norman, Witmer, & Weishampel, 2004.3; O'Gorman & Hone, 2012), and biogeographic radiations (Barrett et al., 2014.2). Despite their evolutionary significance and their abundance in Maastrichtian ecosystems of North America, thescelosaurines remain poorly understood. To date, Thescelosaurinae is species-poor, consistently composed only of three unique species of Thescelosaurus (Th. neglectus, Th. assiniboiensis, and Th. garbanii), a collection of material referable to the genus level (Boyd et al., 2009; Brown et al., 2011.2), and frequently, the genus Parksosaurus (e.g., Sues et al., 2023.2).
As a clade, thescelosaurines were spatiotemporally constrained to the latest Cretaceous of North America, but their close relationship to orodromines, known from the Early Cretaceous, leaves a large knowledge gap in our understanding of their biogeographic origins and evolutionary relationships. Thescelosaurines, along with Orodrominae, form the two consistently stable and well-supported internal subclades of Thescelosauridae; however, beyond this, the composition of Thescelosauridae is variable, with some studies including a collection of other small-bodied early diverging ornithischians (hereafter SBEDOs). Although several of these species are well-preserved in terms of anatomical completeness, ontogenetic series, and specimen quantity (e.g., Haya and Jeholosaurus), these specimens are often preserved in articulation, preventing comprehensive documentation of elements from multiple views and limiting the number of phylogenetically informative characters that can be established and verified. This deficiency contributes to the phylogenetic instability within Thescelosauridae and among close relatives.
Here, we describe Fona herzogae, a new species of possibly semi-fossorial thescelosaurine dinosaur, from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, based on one of the largest articulated and disarticulated skeletal collections of a single SBEDO. This collection allows us to document and figure elements in previously underrepresented views. Our description of Fona herzogae aids in understanding the evolution of early diverging ornithischians; allows for better comparison of neornithischian interrelationships and investigations into fossorial behavior; and expands the growing list of known dinosaurian taxa that compose the faunas of the mid-Cretaceous of North America.
1.1 Geological setting
Higher subduction rates during the Albian-Cenomanian transition resulted in an intensified volcanism across the westerly lying Cordilleran Arc triggering a rejuvenation of shortening across the Sevier fold-and-thrust-belt (Currie, 2002; DeCelles & Coogan, 2006; Laskowski et al., 2013). Due to this tectonic activity in the west, the north–south trending foredeep migrated eastward, accommodating both unroofed thrust sediments and voluminous amounts of volcanilithic detritus (Tucker et al., Accepted; Currie, 2002; DeCelles & Coogan, 2006; Laskowski et al., 2013). Remnants of this dynamic setting are scattered across the Western Interior (WI), which include the penecontemporaneous deposits of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation (Utah) to the central WI, along with the Wayan Formation of Idaho and Vaughn Member of the Blackleaf Formation in Montana (Tucker et al., Accepted; Kirkland et al., 2016; Krumenacker, 2019.2).
The Mussentuchit Member is the youngest Cedar Mountain Formation member (99.674 + 0.439/−0.197 to 98.905 + 0.158/−0.183 Myr) and represents a ~ 800 k window into the world of Laramidia's eastern shores just prior to the Greenhorn cycle in the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) (Tucker et al., 2022.1; Tucker et al., 2023.3). Sedimentary successions of the Mussentuchit Member predominantly consist of smectitic mudrocks, thin-bedded sandstones, and four laterally extensive bedded ashes (MAZ1–MAZ4) (Tucker et al., 2023) (Figure 1). Most recently, the Mussentuchit Member has been interpreted to reflect a mix of orogen-transverse (Sevier highlands) and orogen-parallel accumulation of basinal sediments (Tucker et al., Accepted). We envision a similar setting for the Wayan-Vaughn Member; however, this has yet to be confirmed. Despite both the Mussentuchit and Wayan-Vaughn depocenters being located within the foredeep, the northerly lying Wayan-Vaughn depocenter is ascribed as a more arid environment composition (Krumenacker, 2019.2). In contrast, the more southerly Mussentuchit depocenter has been interpreted as humid (Suarez et al., 2012.1; Tucker et al., 2022.1), possibly resulting in each Member preserving similar, yet distinct, species compositions (Avrahami et al., 2022.2; Krumenacker, 2019.2).
FIGURE 1
Index map and stratigraphic section. Bayesian age-stratigraphic model for key fossil sites in the Mussentuchit Member using a composite stratigraphic framework and depositional ages for MAZ1–4 (Tucker et al., 2023.3) and the modified Bchron Bayesian age-stratigraphic model (Trayler et al., 2020.1). Posterior ages and uncertainties for stratigraphic positions are interpreted from the median, and 95% highest-density intervals of the model runs. Model runs were truncated above using a 95.6 Ma age for the overlying Naturita Sandstone (Tucker et al., 2022.1, 2023.3). Figure modified from Tucker et al., 2023.3.
FIGURE 2
Postcranial skeletal reconstruction. Postcranial 3D reconstruction of select disarticulated elements from the Mini Troll locality. The exact number of cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae and ribs are unknown, illustrated by the white dotted lines. Portions of the manus are also incomplete.
FIGURE 3
Reconstructed skull. Cranial reconstruction derived from elements recovered from the Mini Troll, Karmic, and Manolo localities in (a) lateral, (b) medial, (c) ventral, (d) rostral, (e) dorsal, and (f) caudal views. Dashed lines represent the missing predentary. All non-midline elements are duplicated and mirrored elements in lateral view are denoted with an asterisk here. *premaxilla (FMNH PR 4581), maxilla (NCSM 36143), nasal (NCSM 36144), *jugal (NCSM 33548), quadratojugal (NCSM 36160), *postorbital (NCSM 36149), quadrate (NCSM 36159), squamosal (NCSM 36164), parietal (NCSM 36148), *frontal (NCSM 36136), prefrontal (NCSM 36151), *lacrimal (NCSM 36172), *supraorbital (NCSM 36147), *pterygoid (NCSM 36158), *palatine (NCSM 33548), ectopterygoid (NCSM 36132), *dentary (NCSM 36131), coronoid (NCSM 33548), surangular (NCSM 36166), angular (NCSM 36126), splenial (NCSM 36162), articular (NCSM 33548). Elements of the braincase are shown only in A and specimen numbers are provided in the Figure 8 caption.
FIGURE 4
Distribution of in situ bones from the Mini Troll locality. Quarry map of jacket MM15-MT-37 showing the distribution and relative locations of skeletal elements belonging to the two best-represented individuals from the Mini Troll locality. Hex color codes and bone silhouettes correspond to those in Figure 1. Gray bones are those that remain unidentified or underprepared. Numbers on elements represent a preparation ID. Numbers outlined in red and denoted with a ↓ were underlying those outlined in white. Cranial elements are black and not to scale. The scale of the map and bones is not exact, as the map was reconstructed using multiple photographs from different angles at different times during the preparation process. Not all bones mapped. NCSM specimen numbers corresponding to field numbers can be found in Data S7.
Avrahami, H. M., Makovicky, P. J., Tucker, R. T., & Zanno, L. E. (2024).
A new semi-fossorial thescelosaurine dinosaur from the Cenomanian-age Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. The Anatomical Record, 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25505
Copyright: © 2024 The authors.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Open access.
Reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)
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