Select finds on Menefee Expedition 2023

[Benjamin Mohler]

These are fossils from the early Campanian of northwestern New Mexico, collected on BLM-managed land as part of the Menefee Expedition. The Menefee Expedition, which has run yearly since 2011, is a multi-institutional effort combining the talents of the Southwest Paleontological Society, Western Science Center, Zuni Dinosaur Institute for Geosciences, and formerly the University of Pennsylvania, permitted under the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico. Fossils collected as part of the Menefee Expedition are prepared and stored at the Western Science Center in Hemet, California. If you'd like to watch the day-by-day of the expedition, be sure to check out the Expedition Video logs on YouTube!

 

 

Baenid turtle shell- my find!

 

 

Dinosaur limb end- my find!

 

 

Large croc tooth, likely Deinosuchus- volunteer find!

 

 

Leaf and stem- my find!

 

 

Gar scale- my find!

 

 

Dinosaur tibia- volunteer find!

 

 

Brachychampsa tooth- my find!

 

 

Bivalve, which I think is a unionid- my find!

 

 

Crocodilian tooth in matrix- my find!

 

 

Finally, a dinosaur toe bone- volunteer find!

[Cris]

Incredible finds from both you and other volunteers Ben! What type of environment were we looking at here where these expeditions are taking place? Very interesting to see plant material along with the vertebrate material (assuming it's the same formation). Thanks for sharing! 

[debivort]

yeah, really remarkable finds!

[PaleoBri]

Those are beautiful! Anything dinosaur is definitely a dream thing for me to find. 

[Brandy Cole]

Congrats on the finds!

[Benjamin Mohler]

On 8/26/2023 at 7:33 PM, debivort said:

yeah, really remarkable finds!

 

On 8/26/2023 at 7:46 PM, PaleoBri said:

Those are beautiful! Anything dinosaur is definitely a dream thing for me to find. 

 

On 8/26/2023 at 9:57 PM, Brandy Cole said:

Congrats on the finds!

 

Thanks all! It was a really remarkable field season and I'm really looking forward to surveying this area again next year.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Splendid! 

[Benjamin Mohler]

On 8/26/2023 at 6:40 PM, Cris said:

Incredible finds from both you and other volunteers Ben! What type of environment were we looking at here where these expeditions are taking place? Very interesting to see plant material along with the vertebrate material (assuming it's the same formation). Thanks for sharing! 

 

It's all the same deposit: the Allison Member of the Menefee Formation. This is a near-shore terrestrial environment that was nevertheless quite wet, as indicated by a number of freshwater-preferring semiaquatic species. The most common plant material we find are petrified tree stumps, but leaves do appear in the mudstone from time to time as we trench around larger vertebrate fossils. 

[DPS Ammonite]

Are there any marine or brackish water fossils such as sharks or oysters?

[FossilNerd]

Very cool! 

[Benjamin Mohler]

5 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said:

Are there any marine or brackish water fossils such as sharks or oysters?

 

Not here, but shark teeth and oysters can be found close by in tongues of the Cliff House Sandstone. Here's a few from this same trip: