PENNINGTON MOSASAUR SITE

Page 3 was updated on April 21, 2007.

I found this paleontological site on March 9, 2007. The site is in a pasture owned by Larry and Marsha Pennington. Through their very generous cooperation, I removed the bones shown below during the subsequent weeks.

Unfortunately, this is not the skull I found at the Pennington site, but it is representative of this reptile. This particular Mosasaur is on display at the Sternberg Museum in Hays, Kansas.

Mosasaurs were very large marine reptiles, and lived during the Cretaceous Period of Kansas. The Great Inland Sea covered Kansas at this time - 88 million years ago. Mosasaurs attained a length of up to 35 feet.

The specimen displayed in the following pictures is probably a Tylosaur, a slightly smaller species. This skeleton as found was 14 feet long, with "breaks" in the skeleton, possibly cause by predation or wave action. The bones were located in the Smoky Hill Chalk, a part of the Ogallala Group of the Niobrara Formation.

I'm hunting in Larry and Marsha Pennington's rock pit this afternoon, March 9. These bone fragments are the first "inkling" of bones being found here. Photo taken March 10, 2007.

This is a close-up of the damaged skull and jaws. The bones have been damaged by rock loading equipment. (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

These are the first bones I found, a string of 4 or 5 vertebra, (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

About two feet further south of the main string of vertebra are two more, and turned crosswise to the other vertebra (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

This is an overall view of the site. The vertebra are located just below the piece of tin in the center of the picture (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

Didn't want to disturb the vertebra with out having my camera, so just moved a little matrix to see how many bones there might be (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

Just a closer view of the preceding picture (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

This is one of the "floater" vertebra, located about two feet south of the main vertebral column (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

Due to the fact that the skull/jaws have been crushed and disarranged, I surface collected the fragments resulting in this collection (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

These are the jaws after the surface collecting had been done (March 9). Photo taken March 10, 2007.

Next Page