Triassic Vertebrate Tracks: A Record of the Oldest Mesozoic Tracks from Nevada

Join Rebecca Hall, Paleontologist and Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, as she explores Triassic trace fossils in Nevada.

Triassic trace fossils are well documented and researched from the Moenkopi Formation/Group, 240Ma, spanning across the Colorado Plateau of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico. These fossils, however, have never been formally documented or researched in Nevada until vertebrate trackways (footprints) from several different species were recently discovered. These specimens show exceptional preservation, including the presence of skin impressions. The discovery of tracks was first noted by Chester Longwell in 1928 when they were reported in a geological survey, but the tracks were never fully documented. After the discovery of vertebrate trace fossils in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area by Becky Hall, a proper scientific study is currently being conducted to contribute a better understanding of Triassic trace fossils in relation to regional and local reconstruction of paleoenvironments. These tracks represent the oldest Mesozoic vertebrate traces from Nevada, and some of the western-most terrestrial Triassic traces in North America expanding the record of Moenkopi ecosystems further afield.