Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

[kgbudge]

@Gary Stradling and I had an incredible visit to Ghost Ranch yesterday. This is a large dude ranch/convention center/museum about an hour and a half north of where I live, on the highway from Abiquiu to Chama, New Mexico, in the extreme southeastern part of the Colorado Plateau (Chama Basin). I believe it's the type location for Coelophysis bauri; in any case, the mass kill beds of Coelophysis here are pretty famous, and there are a number of other fossil quarries in the general area, including some that were fought over by Cope and Marsh during the Bone Wars.

 

They have a small but very nice paleontology museum, and a permanent paleontologist on staff, Gretchen Gürtler. Perhaps because we came on a winter week day during COVID slowdown, or perhaps because Gary is just such a charming guy,   she ended up giving us the grand tour, including her workshop and latest work. It was a real treat.

 

Gretchen, Gary, and bones.

 

 

 

The slab she's currently preparing.

 

 

This is part of a mass kill of Vancleavea, from the Chinle Group (most likely Rock Point Formation). Various paleontologists have been working on this slab for almost two decades. There are at least three distinct animals in this section.

 

 

Left of the pointing finger is the palate of a Vancleavea skull, and you can see scutes of its armored skin at upper left.

 

 

A skull, with orbit just above and to the right of the center of the photograph. Teeth along the jaw in the lower part of the photograph. 

 

The full slab again. You can see a string of vertebrae.

 

 

This section came out of a much larger slab on display in the museum.

 

 

 

You can see the work tool stand in the background. This museum seems to have a tradition of letting visitors see the work of the paleontologists close up -- visitors can come right up to the surrounding wall and see the slab and (at the right times) the paleontologist and her students working on the slab. 

 

Complete Coelophysis in death attitude.

 

 

I was aware that the dead tendons tend to contract and pull the skeleton into this curved shape, with tail and neck curled back. I didn't know, until Gretchen told us, that the contracting tendons have such force that they can partially disarticulate the skeleton -- pulling the jaw off, for example.

 

Pes of a Vancleavea in the big slab.

 

 

The sharp bend is the ankle joint. There is still some debate whether the animal walked flatfooted or on its toes; there are at present no trace fossils from this area to tell us. Alas, there is not an equally striking manus from this slab.

 

Display for Vancleavea

 

 

Pesky reflection. Gretchen opened the display for us to get a better photograph.

 

 

The skull at left is a metoposaurid, a temnospondyl (amphibian). 

 

 

A phytosaur. Looks a lot like a crocodile, doesn't it? But it's not that closely related; in fact, birds are more closely related to crocodiles than this critter. It's considered a good example of convergent evolution. 

 

Yeah, and the mask. That's where its nostrils were. This critter inhabited very much the same niche as modern crocodiles.

 

The hospitality we were shown was incredible. An absolutely wonderful visit.

 

 

 

 

 

[Opuntia]

Thank you for the tour. 

I'll have to make my way up there sometime soon 

[Tidgy's Dad]

How absolutely marvelous.

And thank you so much for sharing this with the rest of us. 

[Sjfriend]

Nice report. Great to see the staff were welcoming. Might have to find an excuse to visit.

[ClearLake]

Very interesting, thanks.  Ill have to put that one on my list for the next time I'm out that way.