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Paleontologists doubt 'dinosaur dance floor'
November 10, 2008Potholes or tracks? Both sides team for follow-up study
SALT LAKE CITY - A group of paleontologists visited the northern Arizona wilderness site nicknamed a "dinosaur dance floor" and concluded there were no dinosaur tracks there, only a dense collection of unusual potholes eroded in the sandstone.
So the scientist who leads the University of Utah's geology department says she will team up with the skeptics for a follow-up study.
"Science is an evolving process where we seek the truth," says Marjorie Chan, professor and chair of geology and geophysics, and co-author of a recent study that concluded the pockmarked, three-quarter-acre site in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument was a 190-million-year-old dinosaur "trample surface".
"We went through the proper scientific process of careful study, comparisons with other published works and peer review" of the study by independent scientists, Chan adds. "We gave the project considerable critical thought and came up with a different interpretation than the paleontologists, but we are open to dialogue and look forward to collaborating to resolve the controversy."
On Oct. 30 - more than a week after the Utah study was publicized worldwide - four scientists hiked to the remote wilderness-area site: paleontologist Brent Breithaupt, director and curator of the University of Wyoming's Geological Museum; U.S. Bureau of Land Management paleontologist Alan Titus and geologist Rody Cox; and paleontologist Andrew Milner of the St. George (Utah) Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm.
They saw dinosaur tracks en route, but none in the pockmarked "dance floor."
"There simply are no tracks or real track-like features at this site," Breithaupt says. "We will be investigating the formation of these features in the upcoming study. Science works best when scientists work together."
Chan and Winston Seiler, who conducted the research as part of his master's thesis, say they are not retracting their study, which was published in the October issue of Palaios, an international paleontology journal. But they acknowledge there are strong arguments for the features being potholes rather than dinosaur tracks. The original study cited the possibility that the features were potholes and outlined arguments against it.
Chan says if the features are potholes, they are extremely unusual compared with typical potholes on the Colorado Plateau - and their formation still needs to be explained fully. She will work with Breithaupt and the others to examine the site in greater detail.
"A reinterpretation could emerge, but those conclusions have not yet been written as a scientific paper and need to be submitted to a journal for publication after peer review by other scientists," she says.
Nevertheless, the University of Utah geologists feel obligated to inform the public of the difference of opinion because of wide publicity about the "dinosaur dance floor."
"The public interest has been tremendous, and fortunately there are many other fantastic, accessible, documented dinosaur track sites than can be visited in the area," Breithaput says.
Seiler spent considerable time at the unusual site. He acknowledges that the dinosaur track interpretation is controversial, further study is warranted, and if the paleontologists turn out to be correct, "that's part of science."
Chan adds: "This is how science works, and we'll have to see how it shakes out in the end."
University of Utah
"Science is an evolving process where we seek the truth," says Marjorie Chan, professor and chair of geology and geophysics, and co-author of a recent study that concluded the pockmarked, three-quarter-acre site in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument was a 190-million-year-old dinosaur "trample surface".
"We went through the proper scientific process of careful study, comparisons with other published works and peer review" of the study by independent scientists, Chan adds. "We gave the project considerable critical thought and came up with a different interpretation than the paleontologists, but we are open to dialogue and look forward to collaborating to resolve the controversy."
On Oct. 30 - more than a week after the Utah study was publicized worldwide - four scientists hiked to the remote wilderness-area site: paleontologist Brent Breithaupt, director and curator of the University of Wyoming's Geological Museum; U.S. Bureau of Land Management paleontologist Alan Titus and geologist Rody Cox; and paleontologist Andrew Milner of the St. George (Utah) Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm.
They saw dinosaur tracks en route, but none in the pockmarked "dance floor."
"There simply are no tracks or real track-like features at this site," Breithaupt says. "We will be investigating the formation of these features in the upcoming study. Science works best when scientists work together."
Chan and Winston Seiler, who conducted the research as part of his master's thesis, say they are not retracting their study, which was published in the October issue of Palaios, an international paleontology journal. But they acknowledge there are strong arguments for the features being potholes rather than dinosaur tracks. The original study cited the possibility that the features were potholes and outlined arguments against it.
Chan says if the features are potholes, they are extremely unusual compared with typical potholes on the Colorado Plateau - and their formation still needs to be explained fully. She will work with Breithaupt and the others to examine the site in greater detail.
"A reinterpretation could emerge, but those conclusions have not yet been written as a scientific paper and need to be submitted to a journal for publication after peer review by other scientists," she says.
Nevertheless, the University of Utah geologists feel obligated to inform the public of the difference of opinion because of wide publicity about the "dinosaur dance floor."
"The public interest has been tremendous, and fortunately there are many other fantastic, accessible, documented dinosaur track sites than can be visited in the area," Breithaput says.
Seiler spent considerable time at the unusual site. He acknowledges that the dinosaur track interpretation is controversial, further study is warranted, and if the paleontologists turn out to be correct, "that's part of science."
Chan adds: "This is how science works, and we'll have to see how it shakes out in the end."
University of Utah
Paleontology Current Events and Paleontology News RSSCentral Africa's tropical Congo Basin was arid, treeless in Late Jurassic
The Congo Basin - with its massive, lush tropical rain forest - was far different 150 million to 200 million years ago. At that time Africa and South America were part of the single continent Gondwana.
The last European hadrosaurs lived in the Iberian Peninsula
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The humble beginnings of a king
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New dinosaur species from Montana
A husband and wife team of American paleontologists has discovered a new species of dinosaur that lived 112 million years ago during the early Cretaceous of central Montana.
New analyses of dinosaur growth may wipe out one-third of species
Paleontologists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Museum of the Rockies have wiped out two species of dome-headed dinosaur, one of them named three years ago - with great fanfare - after Hogwarts, the school attended by Harry Potter.
Crushed bones reveal literal dino stomping ground
Imagine the gruesome sound of bones snapping as a thirsty, 30-ton dinosaur tramples a heap of fresh carcasses on his way to a rapidly shrinking lake.
Chinese and American paleontologists discover a new Mesozoic mammal
An international team of paleontologists has discovered a new species of mammal that lived 123 million years ago in what is now the Liaoning Province in northeastern China.
Archaeopteryx was not very bird-like
New research published this week clips the wings of Archaeopteryx. First found in Germany in the 1860's and dating to 150 million years ago, Archaeopteryx has long been considered the iconic first bird.
Trackway analysis shows how dinosaurs coped with slippery slopes
A new investigation of a fossilized tracksite in southern Africa shows how early dinosaurs made on-the-fly adjustments to their movements to cope with slippery and sloping terrain.
U of A researcher has rare evidence of dinosaur cannibalism
University of Alberta researcher Phil Bell has found 70 million year old evidence of dinosaur cannibalism.
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