A fossilized marine reptile found on the shore of Flaming Gorge Reservoir in May will soon be on display at the Utah Field House of Natural History museum in Vernal. Alan Dailey, a boater from Hooper, Utah first spotted the fossil and decided to send pictures of it to state paleontologists while leaving it where he found it. Utah Field House Manager Steve Sroka says he did the right thing by only reporting the fossil and now the fossil will be available for marine reptile specialists to study. “The ichthyosaur was found in sandstone that also preserved fossils of oysters and squid-like belemnoids (extinct creatures related to modern-day squids) that lived in the seaway at the same time,” shares Museum Curator John Foster, of the Utah Field House of Natural History. “It is not often you see an entire fin laid out in the rock like that — so it is fun to be able to imagine a fast-swimming ichthyosaur chasing prey through the warm seawater in our region so long ago.” A team of paleontologists from Utah State Parks along with several partner organizations recently worked to recover the 400-pound sandstone block with the main part of the specimen into a boat on the Flaming Gorge shoreline. After spending some time in the lab at the Field House, the specimen will make its way into an exhibit at the museum for public viewing.
