Eureka at Cisco

Brian Davis, an associate professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, loves looking for small fossils. His research focuses on early mammals, particularly teeth, jaws, and skull parts. Brian’s most recent discovery is a mammal fossil quarry in Cisco, Utah, part of the Morrison Formation dating back to the Jurassic period. The site has yielded small animal fossils, including some potentially significant early mammals that correlate with a nearby site in Fruita, CO. We discuss the complexities of fossil excavation, preservation, and the analysis process as well as the importance of student education.

Science Moab · Eureka at Cisco: Jurassic Mammals

The World Dinosaurs Lived In

The world that existed when dinosaurs roamed the Moab area was vastly different than the world today . We talk with Dr. John Foster, a paleontologist and the former director of the Museum of Moab, whose work involves excavating the oldest known dinosaur Sauropod skeleton right here in the Moab area. Here we discuss a geologic layer known as the Morrison Formation and we explore the Jurassic Period…the landscape, plants and animals that existed 150 million years ago when the Morrison was being deposited.