Paleontologists from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the University of Texas at El Paso, and Montana State University unearthed fossil bones of a tenontosaurus sp. This early Cretaceous ornithopod dinosaur from North America inhabited the Yucca Formation located in the far west of Texas, USA. Notably, this southernmost finding of Tenontosaurus in the interior West is around 400 km east of the Arizona record and about 900 km southwest of the north-central Texas record.
Life restoration of Tenontosaurus tilletti. Image credit: Nobu Tamura http://spinops.blogspot.com.
Tenontosaurus is a genus of iguanodont ornithopod dinosaur that roamed North America around 115 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period.
This genus includes two known species: Tenontosaurus tilletti and Tenontosaurus dossi.
Both species possessed particularly long and broad tails, which were strengthened by a framework of bony tendons, similar to their backs.
The recent fossils were retrieved from the Upper Yucca Formation of the Indio Mountains, situated approximately 35 km southwest of Van Horn in West Texas.
“I wasn’t specifically searching for fossils that day,” stated Dr. Jason Ricketts, a paleontologist at the University of Texas at El Paso.
“While examining rocks in the area, we spotted debris weathered from the soft shale.”
“There was no need for excavation; I simply collected them. It was a surprising and thrilling discovery. My family joined me to help gather the pieces.”
“Fossils of dinosaurs are uncommon in West Texas, and finding fossilized bones instead of just footprints is especially rare.”
“The fossils were found as separate fragments, with the largest confirmed to be a part of a femoral leg bone.”
“Despite their imperfect state, these fossils hold significant scientific value,” he remarked.
“Before this discovery, similar fossils were only found in other regions of Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and Texas.”
This new finding extends the known range of Tenontosaurus further southwest than previously documented.
“Until now, fossils of this kind were mostly located in northern and eastern states, such as Utah and Wyoming,” Ricketts noted.
“This discovery… indicates that Tenontosaurus lived as far south as West Texas.”
While research on the fossil fragments continues, the authors hope this discovery will encourage additional exploration in West Texas, where dinosaur fossils are largely uncharted.
“This finding demonstrates that there is still a wealth of knowledge to acquire about our region’s prehistoric history,” said Dr. Ricketts.
“It’s a privilege to contribute, even if only in a small way, to that larger narrative.”
This discovery is detailed in the following article: paper published in the Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
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Spencer G. Lucas et al. 2025. An ornithopod dinosaur that lived in the early Cretaceous of West Texas. Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science 101:291-294
Source: www.sci.news
