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Petrified Forest Museum Association

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Home/Paleontology

Paleontology

Petrified Forest National Park is one of the best places on earth to study all kinds of fossils from the Triassic Period. The Triassic is a time when giant reptiles including the earliest dinosaurs and other crocodile like creatures were vying to become the world’s dominant land animals. Lots of other creatures originated during this time as well including frogs, turtles, pterosaurs, true mammals, and ichthyosaurs.

Postosuchus
Postosuchus
  • Petrified Forest has fossil wood from nine different geologic layers
  • Petrified Forest has some of the earliest “dated” dinosaurs in the fossil record of North America, at 223 million years ago.
  • Petrified Forest has over 90 species of fossil plants and animals that were first named from our rocks.
  • Petrified Forest preserves fossils of everything from microscopic plant pollen to 20 foot long crocodile-like animals called phytosaurs.
  • The largest carnivorous land animals from Petrified Forest are not dinosaurs; instead they are armored “dinosaur-like” crocodile ancestors including one called Postosuchus.
  • Triassic dinosaurs were small and probably preyed upon by animals like Postosuchus

All these fossils are contained in about 20 million years of rock layers deposited by ancient river systems 225 to 205 million years ago, which is about a third of the entire Triassic time period. These fossils and other clues provide direct evidence of ecosystem changes through time, which are responses to ancient global climate changes.

  • Phytosaur skull | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • The pelvic bone of Poposaurus found in 2008 | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • The excavation of a phytosaur skull from Devils Playground in 2005 | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • Prospecting for fossils in the new expansion area | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • Finding fossils | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • Paleo dig | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • Preparing a fossil to move | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park
  • Assembling Rainbow Forest exhibit | Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park

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Paleontology Fun Facts

  • Scientists and students from over a dozen universities and other institutions come here to study Paleontology (the study of ancient life).
  • Tyrannosaurus walked over the fossilized bones of our dinosaurs nearly 140 million years later.
  • The Late Triassic is often called the "Dawn of the Dinosaurs" because it is the time when dinosaurs first appear in the fossil record.

Featured Books

  • Secrets of Petrified Plants: Fascination from Millions of Years Secrets of Petrified Plants: Fascination from Millions of Years $39.95
  • Geological Timeline and the History of Life Geological Timeline and the History of Life $7.95
  • Ten Little Dinosaurs Ten Little Dinosaurs $12.99
  • Flying Home, The Colorado Plateau from Above and Below by Craig Childs $24.95
  • Petrified Forests: The World's 31 Most Beautiful Petrified Forests Petrified Forests: The World’s 31 Most Beautiful Petrified Forests $39.95
  • The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas The Dinosaurs’ Night Before Christmas $18.99
  • Petrified Forest National Park: A Wilderness Bound In Time Petrified Forest National Park: A Wilderness Bound In Time $17.95

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Petrified Forest Museum Association

1 Park Road
PO Box 2277
Petrified Forest, Arizona 86028

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