New Moab excavation site could be oldest Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed in North America
· KSL.comMOAB — A new dinosaur dig site near Arches National Park could be one of the oldest Cretaceous bonebeds in North America.
Experts in Utah say fossils found at the site outside of Moab, in eastern Utah, could date back 138 to 141 million years.
They also believe the site, which officially opened for excavation in mid-October, could contain a new dinosaur species. They draw this conclusion in part from the site's age, which falls between two geologic periods: the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
Scientists hope the discovery will help them better understand a mass extinction that happened during the transition from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous period.