Comments on: Alamosaurus Gets Pumped Up

By: Cody Burkett

Cody Burkett — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 00:45:24 +0000

I wish this would drum up more interest for paleontology in the Late cretaceous of new mexico as well. Luckily, since I’m down in the area where they might exist, I’ll keep my eye out for some more deposits for a covetous graduate student to explore…

Course, watch, that will end up being me three degrees from now.

By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:38:00 +0000

@ Denver
While not as a result of your paper (well, a little bit), I do have interest in the late cretaceous of New Mexico. I got hooked by the idea of dinosaur provincialism (boosted by the description of Bistahieversor (god, that’s a hard name to spell and pronounce!)) and as such want to build a provincial collection. No one has any idea how much i have been chomping at the bit to go search the Two Medicine, Kaiparowits, and Kirtland formations (and maybe the El Gallo formation in Baja California. Anyone got good relations with Mexico?). I agree that the late Cretaceous of New Mexico does warrant more exploration. Wish i could be out there right now looking for Titanoceratops, Bistahieversor, Kritosaurus, and their countrparts to the north. Unfortunately, i’m just a community college student at the moment and am so far having trouble just looking for fossils in my home county. But at least your paper has given me one more incentive!

By: Denver Fowler

Denver Fowler — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:53:44 +0000

Thanks for the posting.

Obviously the fragmentary nature of the material makes any solid idea of size very difficult, but the measurements of the cervical vert are comparable with Puertasaurus (and by extension, Argentinosaurus).

Anyway, the “biggest dinosaur” label is fun, but I was hoping that this paper might drum up some further interest in the New Mexico faunas. We really need to get down there with larger field teams and find more complete specimens of the unique fauna.

Over the past 20 years or so, fieldwork by Bob Sullivan (State Museum PA) and the NMMNH has identified a number of good fossil sites and horizons. I would really like to see the New Mexico Late Cretaceous achieve something similar to the great work the Utah crew have done in the Kaiparowits (and elsewhere, e.g. the early Cretaceous).