Imagine stumbling upon a 115-million-year-old secret hidden in the rugged terrain of West Texas. That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Jason W. Ricketts, an associate professor from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), whose serendipitous discovery is rewriting the map of an ancient dinosaur’s habitat. But here’s where it gets controversial: could this find challenge our understanding of how dinosaurs migrated across North America? Let’s dive in.
While conducting fieldwork at the Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS), a vast natural laboratory owned by UTEP, Ricketts wasn’t searching for fossils. Instead, he was studying rocks when he noticed fragments of bone weathering out of soft shale. ‘I simply picked them up,’ he recalled. ‘It was an unexpected and thrilling moment, and my family even joined me to help collect the pieces.’ These fragments were later identified as belonging to Tenontosaurus, a medium-sized, plant-eating dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period.
The discovery is detailed in a paper titled ‘An Ornithopod Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of West Texas,’ published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Coauthored by paleontology curator Dr. Spencer G. Lucas and doctoral student Sebastian G. Dalman, the study highlights the rarity of such finds in West Texas. ‘Discovering fossilized bones, rather than just footprints, is especially uncommon in this region,’ Ricketts noted. The largest fragment, part of a femur, may be incomplete, but its scientific value is undeniable.
And this is the part most people miss: before this discovery, Tenontosaurus fossils were primarily found in northern and eastern localities like Utah and Wyoming. This new find pushes the species’ known range farther southwest than ever documented, revealing that these dinosaurs thrived as far south as West Texas. ‘It’s a crucial piece in understanding how these creatures dispersed and adapted across diverse environments,’ the research team explained.
Dr. Liz Walsh, interim dean of UTEP’s College of Science, praised the discovery as a testament to the power of curiosity-driven research. ‘It’s a reminder that groundbreaking findings often come when we least expect them,’ she said. While the fragments are still under study, Ricketts hopes this discovery will spark further exploration in West Texas, a region largely overlooked in paleontological research.
Here’s the bold question: Could West Texas hold more prehistoric secrets waiting to be unearthed? Ricketts certainly thinks so. ‘There’s still so much to learn about our region’s ancient past,’ he said. ‘Contributing to that story, even in a small way, is a privilege.’
This discovery not only expands our knowledge of Tenontosaurus but also invites us to rethink the prehistoric landscapes of North America. What other surprises might be buried beneath the surface? Let’s keep digging—and debating—to find out. What do you think? Does this finding change how you view dinosaur migration? Share your thoughts in the comments!
