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Opportunities for Enhancing
Diversity in the Geosciences
and A Late Cretaceous Turtle
from the Hell Creek Formation
of Montana
Erika Canola
Outline:
Research Project
 Lab
 Fieldwork
 Experience

Starting point: (Specimen
LACM 151461)
Research
Began to teach myself everything I
could about turtles.
 Made a turtle glossary in order to
clearly understand publications.
 Consulted with turtle specialists.
 Closely analyzed the specimen.
 Learned to identify turtle bones.

Eubaena & Specimen LACM
151461
Marmarth Research Foundation
Plesiobaena & LACM
151461
Gaffney 1972
Stygiochelys & LACM
151461
Marmarth Research Foundation
Lower Jaw
Gaffney 1982
Shell

Pygal notch
Results from Research
Project
Unable to identify genus due to lack of
skull.
 Able to place Specimen LACM
151461 into Baenidae family.

Workshops
Lab
Mojave Desert
Finding Dinosaur Track Ways
Search for Track Ways
Identified sandstone
 First time identifying a certain stone
and dinosaur track ways.

Camping



First time camping
without the
availability of toilets
and showers.
Understanding the
importance of team
work.
A great opportunity
to get to know the
Dinosaur Institute
staff.
El Golfo Sonora,
Mexico
Search for Fossils
Turtle Fragments Found



Identified turtle
fragments. Most of
which were carapace
pieces.
1st time training my
eyes to identify
between bone and
rocks.
Realized the amount of
time and patience that
it takes to find fossils.

Insert pic of fragments
found
Networking


Got many different
points of view from
Vertebrae
Paleontologists. (Don
Brinkman, Eugene
Gaffney, Peter Meylan)
Met people with similar
interests from San
Bernadino County
Museum, Arizona, New
York, and La Brea Tar
Pits.
Mojave Desert
Collecting the Dinosaur Track Ways
Tools
Collecting






Uncover the tracks
Discover the width
of the sandstone.
Evaluate if tracks
are worth
collecting.
Map out track ways
that will be
collected.
GPS there locality.
Chisel and collect
Overall Results




Scientific paper
Fieldwork
UC applications
Acceptance to UC
Irvine, UC
Riverside, UCLA,
and UC Santa
Barbara.
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Luis M. Chiappe
and Elias S. Kary for giving me the
opportunity to be involved in the
OEDG program.
 The Natural History Museum and The
Dinosaur Institute staff.
