About This Project

More than 100 years ago, paleontologists discovered the skeletons of ancient ocean-dwelling reptiles in the mountains of northern California. These fossils, including fish-shaped ichthyosaurs and lizard like thalattosaurs, provide a glimpse into the Triassic oceans of some 230 million years ago. This region has not been explored for new fossils in over a century. By relocating important sites and discovering new fossils we hope to shed light on a pivotal period in the history of life on Earth.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Triassic reptile fossils were first discovered in Shasta County, California in the late 1800s. In 1902-03, paleontologists from the University of California collected many important Triassic fossils including the remains of ichthyosaurs, fish-shaped reptiles that swam the oceans at the time of the dinosaurs–and some of the first discovered thalattosaurs–coastal-dwelling lizard-like reptiles that achieved nearly worldwide distribution prior to their extinction near the end of the Triassic. These expeditions were funded by Annie Alexander, a wealthy naturalist and philanthropist who joined the team and discovered many fossils herself. We propose to relocate these long overlooked localities and assess the potential to discover more important fossil material in the region.

What is the significance of this project?

The Triassic Period was a critical interval in the history of life on Earth, and was preceded by the largest mass extinction event known, the end-Permian Mass Extinction. During the recovery from this mass extinction reptile groups (including ichthyosaurs and thalattosaurs) adapted to live in the ocean, reversing a trend that had brought their ancestors out of the water and onto land 100 million years earlier. The Shasta fossils record an interval in which ichthyosaurs were growing larger and becoming more highly adapted to marine life. Thalattosaur fossils may be even more abundant, but the group remains poorly understood. By relocating important localities we aim to set the stage for future work that can shed light on the evolution of these groups through the lens of their environment.

What are the goals of the project?

Pending approval of permits and arrangements with the public agencies that own and manage the land, we hope to complete this preliminary exploratory trip in fall 2016. We will use records and photographs from the 1902-03 expeditions to attempt to relocate quarries, which should still be visible given the slow rate that the limestone weathers. We will scout for additional fossil remains in and around these localities and carefully record the stratigraphic placement and geographic coordinates of these remains. We will develop a plan for future concerted fossil collecting as well geological investigation of the site.