A team of scientists led by a UW Oshkosh geologist has dug up a promising new hypothesis to explain the densest collection of dinosaur bones discovered to date. The new study, published in the journal Peer, uses fossil and chemical analysis to better understand the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in central Utah. UW Oshkosh geologist, Joseph Peterson says for decades scientists have studied the origin of the bones, hypothesizing the dinosaurs were poisoned, died from drought or got stuck in the mud. For the past five years Peterson’s team has surveyed the quarry and excavated more than 50 bones. Peterson says chemical analysis and microscopic study suggest the quarry represents numbers mortality events, which brought the dinosaurs to the site over time, rather than a single, fatal event. Peterson was a guest on AM 1170’s Between the Lines program.
