ReBecca Hunt-Foster

Last updated
ReBecca Hunt-Foster
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Arkansas, Texas Tech University
Spouse(s)John R. Foster
InstitutionsNational Park Service

ReBecca Hunt-Foster is an American paleontologist. She has worked with dinosaur remains from the Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous of the Colorado Plateau, Rocky Mountains, Southcentral, and the Southwestern United States of America. She described the dinosaur Arkansaurus fridayi [1] and identified the first juvenile Torosaurus occurrences from Big Bend National Park in North America in 2008. [2]

Contents

Career

Hunt-Foster is the park paleontologist for the National Park Service at Dinosaur National Monument, where she has worked since August 2018. Previously she was the district paleontologist for the Bureau of Land Management–Utah, where she has worked from 2013 to 2018. She was employed for five years as paleontology collections manager at the Museums of Western Colorado from 2007 to 2012 and a research assistant at Augustana College from 2005 to 2008. [3]

Professional work

Hunt-Foster's current research includes Early Cretaceous ornithomimosaurs from North America, the Upper Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation paleofauna of western Colorado, [4] the ichnofauna of the lower Jurassic to lower Cretaceous rocks of southeastern Utah. ReBecca has worked as a paleontologist in western Colorado and eastern Utah since 2007. Prior to moving to the area, ReBecca was a research assistant at Augustana College where she worked on latest Cretaceous ceratopsian dinosaurs from southern Laramidia and preparing Cryolophosaurus , the first known dinosaur from Antarctica. She has also worked on Precambrian stromatolites and the geology of Glacier National Park. [5]

Hunt-Foster is the coauthor of "Behavioral interpretations from chasmosaurine ceratopsid bonebeds: a review." with Andrew Farke, in the 2010 book New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Triceratops</i> Genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period

Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago (mya) in what is now North America. It is one of the last-known non-avian dinosaur genera, and became extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. The name Triceratops, which literally means "three-horned face", is derived from the Ancient Greek words τρί- (tri-) meaning "three", κέρας (kéras) meaning "horn", and ὤψ (ōps) meaning "face".

<i>Torosaurus</i>

Torosaurus is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous period, between 68 and 66 million years ago, though it is possible that the species range might extend to as far as 69 million years ago. Fossils have been discovered across the Western Interior of North America, from Saskatchewan to southern Texas.

Ceratopsia

Ceratopsia or Ceratopia is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, Yinlong downsi, lived between 161.2 and 155.7 million years ago. The last ceratopsian species, Triceratops prorsus, became extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, 66 million years ago.

<i>Nedoceratops</i>

Nedoceratops is a controversial genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period Lance Formation of North America. It is known only from a single skull discovered in Wyoming. Its status is the subject of ongoing debate among paleontologists: some authors consider Nedoceratops a valid, distinct taxon, while others consider it to be an unusual specimen of Triceratops.

<i>Anchiceratops</i>

Anchiceratops is an extinct genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived approximately 72 to 71 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Alberta, Canada. Anchiceratops was a medium-sized, heavily built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore that could grow up to an estimated 5 m (16.4 ft) long. Its skull featured two long brow horns and a short horn on the nose. The skull frill was elongated and rectangular, its edges adorned by coarse triangular projections. About a dozen skulls of the genus have been found.

<i>Arrhinoceratops</i>

Arrhinoceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. The name was coined as its original describer concluded it was special because the nose-horn was not a separate bone, however further analysis revealed this was based on a misunderstanding. It lived during the latest Campanian/earliest Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, predating its famous relative Triceratops by a few million years, although it was contemporary with Anchiceratops. Its remains have been found in Canada.

<i>Medusaceratops</i>

Medusaceratops is an extinct genus of centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana, northern United States. It contains a single species, Medusaceratops lokii.

Javelina Formation

The Javelina Formation is a geological formation in Texas. Dating has shown that the strata date to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 70 to 66.5 million years old. The middle part of the formation has been dated to about 69 million years ago plus or minus 1 Ma and the top situated near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, dated to 66 Ma ago. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

<i>Coahuilaceratops</i> Genus of dinosaur

Coahuilaceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It is a chasmosaurine ceratopsian which lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now southern Coahuila in northern Mexico. It is known from the holotype CPC 276, a partial skeleton of an adult individual which includes several skull elements. Another specimen, CPS 277, may represent a juvenile Coahuilaceratops. All specimens of Coahuilaceratops were collected from a single location in the middle strata of the Cerro del Pueblo Formation, which dates to between 72.5 and 71.4 million years ago.

<i>Utahceratops</i>

Utahceratops is an extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 76.4~75.5 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Utah. Utahceratops was a large-sized, robustly-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 7 m (23 ft) long.

<i>Kosmoceratops</i> Dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous period

Kosmoceratops is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur that lived in North America about 76–75.9 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Specimens were discovered in Utah in the Kaiparowits Formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 2006 and 2007, including an adult skull and postcranial skeleton and partial subadults. In 2010, the adult was made the holotype of the new genus and species Kosmoceratops richardsoni; the generic name means "ornate horned face", and the specific name honors Scott Richardson, who found the specimens. The find was part of a spate of ceratopsian discoveries in the early 21st century, and Kosmoceratops was considered significant due to its elaborate skull ornamentation.

<i>Vagaceratops</i>

Vagaceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It is a chasmosaurine ceratopsian which lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Alberta. Its fossils have been recovered from the Upper Dinosaur Park Formation.

<i>Titanoceratops</i>

Titanoceratops is a controversial genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur. It was a giant chasmosaurine ceratopsian that lived in the Late Cretaceous period in what is now New Mexico. Titanoceratops was named for its large size, being one of the largest known horned dinosaurs and the type species was named T. ouranos, after Uranus (Ouranos), the father of the Greek titans. It was named in 2011 by Nicholas R. Longrich for a specimen previously referred to Pentaceratops. Longrich believed that unique features found in the skull reveal it to have been a close relative of Triceratops, classified within the subgroup Triceratopsini. However, other researchers have expressed skepticism, and believe "Titanoceratops" to simply be an unusually large, old specimen of Pentaceratops.

Triceratopsini

Triceratopsini is a tribe of herbivorous chasmosaurine dinosaurs that lived between the late Campanian to the late Maastrichtian stages of the Cretaceous period, between 74.73 and 66 million years ago. Fossils of these animals have been found in western North America, in particular West Canada, Western and Midwestern United States, which was once part of the ancient continent of Laramidia. The tribe was named by Nicholas R. Longrich in 2011 for the description of Titanoceratops, which he defined as "all species closer to Triceratops horridus than to Anchiceratops ornatus or Arrhinoceratops brachyops". Triceratopsins were the largest of the chasmosaurines; suggesting that gigantism had evolved in the Ceratopsidae once. In addition there is an evolutionary trend in the solidification of the frills, the most extreme being in Triceratops.

Paleontology in Arkansas

Paleontology in Arkansas refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Arkansas. The fossil record of Arkansas spans from the Ordovician to the Eocene. Nearly all of the state's fossils have come from ancient invertebrate life. During the early Paleozoic, much of Arkansas was covered by seawater. This sea would come to be home to creatures including Archimedes, brachiopods, and conodonts. This sea would begin its withdrawal during the Carboniferous, and by the Permian the entire state was dry land. Terrestrial conditions continued into the Triassic, but during the Jurassic, another sea encroached into the state's southern half. During the Cretaceous the state was still covered by seawater and home to marine invertebrates such as Belemnitella. On land the state was home to long necked sauropod dinosaurs, who left behind footprints and ostrich dinosaurs such as Arkansaurus.

Paleontology in Utah Paleontological research in Utah

Paleontology in Utah refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Utah. Utah has a rich fossil record spanning almost all of the geologic column. During the Precambrian, the area of northeastern Utah now occupied by the Uinta Mountains was a shallow sea which was home to simple microorganisms. During the early Paleozoic Utah was still largely covered in seawater. The state's Paleozoic seas would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, fishes, and trilobites. During the Permian the state came to resemble the Sahara desert and was home to amphibians, early relatives of mammals, and reptiles. During the Triassic about half of the state was covered by a sea home to creatures like the cephalopod Meekoceras, while dinosaurs whose footprints would later fossilize roamed the forests on land. Sand dunes returned during the Early Jurassic. During the Cretaceous the state was covered by the sea for the last time. The sea gave way to a complex of lakes during the Cenozoic era. Later, these lakes dissipated and the state was home to short-faced bears, bison, musk oxen, saber teeth, and giant ground sloths. Local Native Americans devised myths to explain fossils. Formally trained scientists have been aware of local fossils since at least the late 19th century. Major local finds include the bonebeds of Dinosaur National Monument. The Jurassic dinosaur Allosaurus fragilis is the Utah state fossil.

The Cabrillo Formation is a Maastrichtian stage geologic formation in coastal San Diego County, southern California. It is part of the Rosario Group.

Timeline of ceratopsian research

This timeline of ceratopsian research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ceratopsians, a group of herbivorous marginocephalian dinosaurs that evolved parrot-like beaks, bony frills, and, later, spectacular horns. The first scientifically documented ceratopsian fossils were described by Edward Drinker Cope starting in the 1870s; however, the remains were poorly preserved and their true nature was not recognized. Over the next several decades, Cope named several such genera and species. Cope's hated rival, Othniel Charles Marsh, also described ceratopsian remains. In 1887, Marsh mistook a Triceratops horn for one belonging to a new species of prehistoric Bison. Marsh also named the eponymous genus Ceratops in 1888. The next year, he named the most famous ceratopsian, Triceratops horridus. It was the discovery of Triceratops that illuminated the ceratopsian body plan, and he formally named the Ceratopsia in 1890.

St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site

The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site is a fossil site and museum at Johnson Farm in Saint George, Utah. The museum preserves thousands of dinosaur footprints right at the original site of discovery.

John Foster (paleontologist)

John Russell Foster is an American paleontologist. Foster has worked with dinosaur remains from the Late Jurassic of the Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountains, as well as working on Cambrian age trilobite faunas in the southwest region of the American west. He named the crocodiliform trace fossil Hatcherichnus sanjuanensis in 1997 and identified the first known occurrence of the theropod trace fossil Hispanosauropusin North America in 2015.

References

  1. Hunt, ReBecca; Quinn, James (March 19, 2018). "A new ornithomimosaur from the Early Cretaceous Trinity Group of Arkansas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 38. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1421209. S2CID   90165402.
  2. Hunt, ReBecca; Lehman, Thomas (2008). "Attributes of the ceratopsian dinosaur Torosaurus, and new material from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (6): 1127–1138. doi:10.1666/06-107.1. S2CID   129385183.
  3. "Featured Paleontologist: Rebecca Hunt-Foster | myFOSSIL". www.myfossil.org. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  4. Foster, John R.; Hunt-Foster, ReBecca H. (2015). "First report of a giant neosuchian (Crocodyliformes) in the Williams Fork Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Campanian) of Colorado". Cretaceous Research. 55: 66–73. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.02.003.
  5. Hunt, ReBecca K. (2006). Lucas, Spencer G.; Spielmann, Justin A.; Hester, P. M.; Kenworthy, Jason P.; Santucci, Vincent L. (eds.). "Middle Proterozoic Paleontology of the Belt Supergroup, Glacier National Park". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 34 (Fossils from Federal Lands: 7th Federal Fossil Conference): 57–62.
  6. Hunt, ReBecca K.; Farke, Andrew A. (2010). "Behavioral interpretations from chasmosaurine ceratopsid bonebeds: a review". In Ryan, Michael J.; Chinnery-Allgeier, Brenda J.; Eberth, David A. (eds.). New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 447–455.

Bibliography