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UNSJ Museum Staff included:
Oscar Alcober, Ricardo
Martinez, Carina Colombi. Guillermo Heredia, Raul Gordillo, Jose Luis
Benito
University Student Volunteers:
Diego Abelin, Nicolas
Carrizo, Abel Paez, Martín Varela, Jorge Castagna
EARTHWATCH FOUNDATION VOLUNTEERS:
TEAM I: (September
16-October 1)
James E. Mahoney, James E. Murphy, Franklyn Goode, Rosemary Wellington,
Gordon Fletcher, Richard Sutton, John Walker, Rodney Stone, Conrad H,
Todd, Harriet B. Todd, Ernest Walker, William Wagner,
TEAM II: (October 2-October 15)
James E. Mahoney, James E, Murphy, Franklyn Goode, Carla W. Henebry, Louis
Tremblay, Dawn Lugg, Nancy Burton, Helen Stocks
TEAM III.: (October 16- October 27)
Monica Pujado Mary Ellen Rowe, Marjorie Steguel, Rodolfo Lomascolo,
William Hard, James Jensen, Joanne O’Connor. Linda Spence, Clay Budin
The original objective of
this campaign was to explore the outcrops in the Quebrada of the
Jachalleros and the Chilca River, a zone of little or no exploration due
to the lack of access routes. In the year 2000, our expedition proved to
be costly in time and money, however due to our unforunate mishaps, we
were rescued by a payloader which managed to open the road for us.
Lamentably, this occurred towards the final days of our campaign, leaving
us no time for true exploration. Therefore, we proposed to explore these
areas as our priority for 2000. Perhaps it is noteworthy to mention our
short excursion made to Ischigualasto in May of 2001, to rescue the fossil
which we had left behind, being unable to extract it in the 2000 campaign.
During this short, one-week expedition, while checking-out some levels in
various paleocanals, we came across some bones and the skull of a small
reptile, no more than twenty centimeters in length. These findings were
astounding since they were discovered in rocks which we had previously
considered to be barren of any valuable fossils, moreover they were found
in an excellent state of preservation. As a result, we changed our
priorities for campaign 2001 and decided we would prospect in these rocks,
before any others.
We camped along the banks of the ‘mighty’ Totoritas River , north of the
Bocce Ball court, the campsite used in 1988. Logistically speaking, it was
ideally-located since it allowed us to come and go to our work areas
freely, without the use of vehicles. In spite of the proximity to our
prospection areas, we experienced anxious moments of worry and
nervousness, consequently our campaign was baptized…..’Losing our Way….’.
Surely all of our volunteers will remember the stories or anecdotes
related to our experiences. On the positive side, after only a few days
into the ‘digging’, a literal waterfall of findings appeared. The tasks
were so demanding, it required the teams to organize their work into a
series of three complete rotations or ‘shifts’. The richest area, being
the valley on the opposite side of the river, was selected for its
numerous levels of outcrops of paleocanals, the rocks we had proposed to
explore. This area was ultimately left nearly completely covered by
markers, indicating important findings.
In spite of the valuable specimens unearthed in 2001, making it the most
successful of the decade, our joy dissipated with the unexpected
announcement of the retirement of our faithful Earthwatch volunteer, Mate
Jim Murphy, by then a veteran. He was an important keystone in our camps,
who unfortunately was forced to retire for health reasons. His
announcement informed us this would be his last expedition with us and he
has left a void which is still impossible to fill. Yet he remains a
special friend by maintaining contact with us and still helping us in
innumerable, incredible ways. To overcome the sadness of Jim’s departing
campaign, it seemed the volunteers worked even harder and made every
effort to make the most of the campaign, in every sense of the word,
trying to make it enjoyable for all, even dancing at one moment. We
collected hundreds of fossils, rescuing sixty-one of them for their
importance. Among the ones which we considered precious gems were:
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The complete skull, (no
more than eight cm) including jaws of a carnivorous Cynodont, practically
unknown in Ischigualasto .
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The most complete
Herrerasaurus dinosaur found in the last thirteen years
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Three immature Rincosaurs
(no more than one year in age) believed to have diedat the same time,
posssibly due to an obsruction in their dwellin
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Complete jointed skeleton
of Cynodont, in an excellent state of preservation, becoming our best
specimen of our paleovertebrate collection, after being put on exhibition,
our most popular tourist attraction in museum
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New type of dinorsour
unknown until that moment, possibly attributable to the first finding of a
Sillosuchus with skull
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Complete skull of a
diminutive Diapsid, ( two centimeters in length)a new form unknown to the
paleofauna of Ischigualasto
This campaign was the
most successful of the last ten years, due to the quality and quantity of
the fossils collected. We dedicated to prospecting layers of sediments and
rocks which we had previously considered to be barren of anything
valuable. Yet in the same rocks we had found extraordinarily
well-preserved microfossil remains, a few months before. On this occasion
we encountered a virtual cascade of findings after a few days into the
campaign, making it impossible to return with all of the specimens. We
carefully selected the most significant, leaving others for future
extraction.
It is gratifying to cite
that the majority of the remarkable finding were made by EARTHWATCH
volunteers,
The Specimens collected between 9-17-01 and 10-26-01
1- Extreme (proximal) femur Saurosuchus 9-18-01 Discovered by: Louise
Wellington
2- Vertebrae, laminar bones and various fragments of Dicynodont, 9-18-01
Discovered by Louise Wellington
3- Skull fragment of Ecteninion 9-18-01 Discovered by Ricardo Martinez on
his birthday
4-Rincosaur vertebrae 9-18-01Discovered by Ricardo Martinez
5-Distal femur fragment suspected Eoraptor ?? 9-19-01 Discovered by Tinto
Jim Mahoney
7- Fragment jaw and plates -Aetosaur 9-20-01 Discovered by Bill Wagner
8-Distal tibia fragment vertebrae and other fragments Herrerosaur 9-20-01
Discovered by Richard Sutton
9- Arco neural, ribs and scapula associated to teeth of huge carnivore
Dicynodont 9-20-01 Discovered by Raul Gordillo
10- Humerus, pelvis and fragments Dicynodont 9-21-01 Discovered by Frank
Goode
11- Skull and post skull Rinconsaur 9-18-01 Discovered by Ricardo Martinez
12- Right paw, pubis, tail, skull fragment Herrerosaur 9-20-01 Discovered
by Tinto Jim Mahoney
13- Vertebra Arcosauru 9-24-01, discovered by Ernest Walker
14- Femur and one plate Actosaur 9-21-01, discovered by Frank Goode
15- Vertebrae (isolated) Dicynodont 9-24-01, discovered by Richard Sutton.
16- Skull with jaw Sinapsid 9-24-01, discovered by Louise. Wellington.
17-Skull and dental fragments infant Rincosaur 9-24-01, discovered by
Ricardo Martinez.
18- Vertebrae, fragments of femur, humerus infant Rincosaur, discovered by
Ricardo Martinez.
19- Complete set ribs of Dycinodont 9-24-01, discovered by Rodney Stone.
20- Skull (in concretion?) suspected Cynodont 9-24-01, discovered Brian
21- 3 skeletons (2 jointed) of juvenile associates Rincosaur 9-21-01,
discovered by John Walker.
22- Partial post-skull in solidified brown mass
23- Shoulder blade, humerus, femur, fingers (coracoids) baby Rincosaur
9-24-01, discovered by Ricardo Martinez.
24- Cervical vert (axis?) susp Herrerosaur 9-25-01, discovered by Harriet
Todd.
25- Humerus and some bone fragments SM Arcosaur 9-25-01, discovered by R
Stone.
28- Skull and jaw Cynodont 9-25-01 Carina Colombi
29- Partial skull Cynodont 9-25-01, discovered Helen Todd.
30- Tibia Herrerosaur 9-25-01, discovered by Ricardo Martinez.
31- Humerus Rincosaur 9-25-01, discovered by Helen Todd.
32- Various bones Rincosaur 9-25-01, discovered Raul Gordillo
33- Incomplete skull Rincosaur (infantile) 1-10-01, discovered Ricardo
Martinez.
34- Fragment of maxilar (with teeth) Cynodont 2-10-01, by Nancy Burton.
35- Shoulder Blade, ulna, metatarsal, humerus fragment (elbow bone)
Rincosaur, discovered Nancy Burton.
36- Humerus limb juvenile Cynodont 10-1-01, discovered
37- Complete jointed skeleton Cynodont 10-2-01
38- Partial shell juvenile Aetosaur year 2000 Raul
39- Skull (without jaw) Cynodont 10-2-01, discovered by Frank. Goode.
40- Jaw fragment Arcosaur/ Saurosuchus ? 10-2-01 Carina Colombi
41-Skull- (juvenile cynodont) 25-09-2001-Discovered by Ricardo Martinez
42- Humerus, scapula, other related fragments (Rincosaur)
03-10-01-Discovered Abel Paez
43- Humerus, phalanx, ulna 05-10-01-Ddiscovered by Frrank Goode
44- Maxilar fragment and dentition of carnivore Cynodont????
007-10-01-Discovered by Ricardo Martinez
45- Femur fragment (Saurosuchus or Sillosuchus????) 0006-10-001 Discovered
by Frank Goode
46- Partial skull, jaw of Cynodont (10-10-2001)Discovered by Helen Stocks
47- Scapula, coracoids, extreme distal humerus of Juvenile Rincosaur-(10-10-2001)Discovered
by Nancy Burton
48- Coprolite-(10-10-2001) Discovered by Ricardo Martinez
49- Fructification in Llos Rastros Formation-10-10-2001-Discovered by
Ricardo Diaz-Park ranger
50- Small skull-Diapsid(?) (18-10-2001) Discovered by Ricardo Martine
51- Tibia and Metatarsal of Herrerasaurus????(10-15-2001) Discovered by
Ricardo Martinez
52- Jaws and Posterior Skull remnants-new Arcosaurus, Sillosuchus (?)
(25-09-01) Discovered by Rodney Stone
53- Skull with Jaw-Cynodont-(10-10—1)Discovered by James Tremblay
54- Dorsal column and scutes of Aetosaur-Discovered by Ricardo Martinez in
1998
55- Half femur bone, various vertebrae of Eoraptor?????(10-24-01)
Discovered by Oscar Alcober
56- Unguals-vertebrae and scutes of Saurosuchus (10-10-01) Discovered by
Oscar Alcober
57- Calcerated concretions of Herrerasaurus found south of the fault
58- Two vertebrae of Arcosaurs and extreme humerus of infantile
Rincosaur(20-10-01)Discovered by Diego Abelin
59- Atlas- Rincosaur (25-10-01) Discovered by Rodolfo Lamascolo
60- Phalanx, metatarsal fragments, some vertebrae Rincosaur (25-10-2001)
Discovered by Monica Pujado
61- Scapula, Dicynodont-(24-10-01) Discovered by Diego Abelin
 Photo
Album
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