Dinosaurs first roamed New Mexico during the Triassic Period around 230 million years ago when this was part of the supercontinent Pangea. Our State continues to be a fertile source of Dinosaur fossils and a recent find of 215-million-year-old fossils near Ghost Ranch made headlines when it clarified questions as to when the major lineages of dinosaurs diverged. Interestingly, these early, smaller dinosaurs were not the top predator of their time; dinosaurs evolved as dominant only following a mass extinction event at the end of the Triassic Period approximately 200 million years ago. Another mass extinction event, about 65 million years ago, put an end to their reign, opening the door to mammals and thus humans. Much of this history is on display in Albuquerque at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History.
This Friday host Stephen Spitz is joined in the studio by the Museum’s Curator of Geology and Paleontology, Spencer G. Lucas, Ph.D. Please tune in for this fascinating discussion of the history of dinosaurs in New Mexico, with a New Mexican who still spends part of his time hunting for dinosaur bones in a place near to you.
Produced with the assistance of John Burgund
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