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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Science
Gabrielle Canon

‘Extremely rare’ Jurassic-era fossils discovered in Lake Powell

Various ancient beasts battle it out on red sandstone.
A painting depicting an early Jurassic scene from the Navajo Sandstone desert at the Glen Canyon national recreation area. Photograph: Brian Engh/NPS

Scientists have discovered an “extremely rare” set of fossils at Lake Powell that the National Park Service (NPS) is calling one of the most important vertebrate discoveries in the US this year.

The findings, revealed this week, include skulls and teeth from dozens of mid-sized, mammal-related herbivores called tritylodonts that once roamed the region’s vast desert. The bones lay hidden in the sandstone walls of the reservoir for roughly 180m years before a lucky discovery in March.

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