Bone Dectectives Worksheet

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Feb 20, 2024

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Bone Detectives Worksheet This mini-assignment goes with the lecture segment titled “Bone Detectives.” Please use this worksheet while viewing the lecture segment. It will require information from the video to complete. Evidence collected from the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry: What organisms are preserved? ● The majority of the individuals preserved are from a single species of carnivore, Allosaurus. ● As evidenced by the size distribution of the Allosaurus leg bones, most of the Allosaurus specimens are sub-adults rather than fully grown adults. ● The other species are not as common but appear to be adult specimens rather than juveniles. What bones are preserved and what are their biological characteristics? ● The bones occur throughout the mudstone. Larger bones are at the top and bottom of the deposit, and smaller bones are concentrated in the middle to upper layer. ● The smallest bones like wrist/ankle bones (carpals/tarsals), finger/toe bones (phalanges), hand and foot long bones (metatarsals/metapodials) bones from the underside of the tail (chevrons) are under-represented. ● The bones of different individuals are mixed together. What are the taphonomic characteristics of the bones themselves? ● Looking closely at the bones, they are very well preserved and show very little weathering. The degree of weathering is consistent with being exposed at the surface for no more than 2 years. ● 30% of the bones have fractures ● Bones that are fractured tend to be more abraded and their edges are more rounded than they would have been in life. But the abrasion in relatively minor. ● 4% of the bones have tooth marks ● The deposit is a fossiliferous mudstone with an overlying limestone. ● The bones are almost always preserved horizontally. ● There is no preferred compass orientation of the bones. ● There is a lot of small bone particles preserved throughout the mud.

1. Use the evidence above to consider the hypothesis that the animals were preserved because they became mired in mud. 1a. Which claim do you think the evidence supports? Claim 1: This deposit represents a collection of animals that became mired in mud. Claim 2: This deposit DOES NOT represent a collection of animals that became mired in mud. 1b. What evidence above supports the claim you chose? I chose the first claim because there is plenty of evidence from the information collected above by the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry that supports this theory. This includes the distribution of the bones within the mudstone, how well the bones are preserved, and the bones mixing together where multiple types of dinosaurs were trapped in the mud at the same time. There is also evidence of scavenging with the tooth marks on some of the bones. 1c. Explain the reasons you think the evidence supports the claim you chose? The reason I chose the above listed evidence to support my claim is because the bones in the mudstone occur with larger bones at the top and the bottom with smaller bones in the middle and upper layer, this suggests that they were distributed within the mud supporting the idea they were mired. The bones might have also been preserved really well because they show very little weathering and might not have been exposed to the surface very long. The bones being mixed together suggests that maybe multiple animals were trapped at the same time with predators trying to catch what they thought to be easy prey. The evidence of tooth marks might indicate that whatever parts of the animal that were left near the surface of the mud might have been scavenged by other animals. 2. After considering all the claims discussed in the video , state the claim you think is best supported . You may also choose a claim that was not discussed in the video or combine claims if you like (Ex. A population died catastrophically but was then transported to the site after death.) I think the first hypothesis is the best and most supported: It is a predator trap where prey became mired in mud and predators, thinking they could get an easy meal, also got trapped. 3. List the evidence that supports the claim you stated in #2 and explain your reasoning in a few sentences. I think the claim above is the best supported because a lot of the fossils are from one animal which can indicate a predator-prey sort of relationship within the mud pit. Also the size distribution of the Allosaurus indicates most of the animals in there are sub adults which shows that there is a mix of different age groups in the population. The distribution of bones through the mudstone with larger

bones on top and smaller bones concentrated through the middle and upper layer can also be considered to be consistent with a scenario where animals got trapped at different times. How well the bones were preserved can also be an indication of the animals getting trapped and sinking through the mud fast. 4. State a claim discussed in the video that you think is ruled out by the evidence. What is the least likely scenario that could explain this fossil deposit? Describe the evidence that supports your assertion and explain your reasoning. I think the second hypothesis could have been ruled out, that the animals gathered at the pond during a drought and, finding it mostly dry, died of thirst. I don’t think the information provided really supports this hypothesis because the bones are well preserved and don’t really show much signs of weathering, the distribution of the bones throughout the mud also doesn’t really stand with the scenario of a drought, and the presence of tooth marks shows some evidence of carnivorous activity which doesn’t really support a scenario where the animals die of thirst.

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