Photo of the Day #951: Dinosaur toe

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A toe bone from a Cretaceous ornithischian dinosaur, just laying on the ground. Photographed at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah.


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A rock squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus), photographed at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.

So, is it still just laying there, as far as you know? Or did it go home with someone who knew what it was?

It had washed out of a formation in the area - an isolated bit of a skeleton which was still covered up. Since Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is BLM land, you can't collect there without a permit. We had to leave it where it was.

I figured as much -- I was teasing in that last comment. I know you've written so much about the cowboy-style fossil collectors of the 19th century. I figure it must've been a great temptation not to pick that up and put it in your pocket.

On the other hand, I know you're dedicated to good science, so maybe it wasn't such a temptation after all.

Is it something worth getting permission for and going back to excavate?

Alison â Thank you SO MUCH for making me aware of this need in putting a DVD together. You are absolutely right; we need to make sure that we make the program accessible to everyone izmir . I truly appreciate your feedback. â Katie

Everyone is asking different questions of their readers - some more detailed ones than others - but I think I'll keep it relatively simple: who are you (feel free to comment anonymously or under a pseud, and be as specific [or not] as you prefer), what do you like about this blog, and is there anything you would like to see here in the future? I admit, straight-up asking for positive feedback might seem a little self-serving, but I am hoping that by doing so I can foster the community of regular readers here and further improve my writing. (Even if you don't want to comment here, please send me an e-mail.) As Pal noted in his own post on this, "As bloggers we can get an idea of how many people are reading us, but not that much else", so getting some good feedback from readers can be both helpful and encouraging.