Spring Dinosaur Digs

["Jim Kirkland Ph.D" <dis@gj.net>]

To all;

        I just thought I would announce our Spring dinosaur expeditions. We
have a number of them this year. The Argentina and Mexico trips are
coming up fast, but we still have a few spaces open. Bill Sills tells us
he has a couple of Eoraptors waiting for us. The Mexico program is also
incredible. In one day a couple of years ago we found 11 hadrosaur jaws
on the surface.
        The Zuni trip will be a great trip as well. The Turonian dinosaurs we
are finding there are all new to science and to give you a feel of how
good it was. Several of the folks that worked their with us last year
want to work with us again this Spring. 
        Feel free to e-mail me any questions you might have. These research
programs deserve support and what better way than jumping in and getting
dirty.

Jim Kirkland
Dinamation Int'l Society

 
LATE CRETACEOUS DINOSAURS OF MEXICO    

 March 28-April 3, 1998 
 
        Help the Dinamation International Society support dinosaur research by 
the 
Coahuila Paleontological Commission and our Mexican affiliate, DIS, Mexico. 
Field work 
is led by Prof. Rene Hernandez, University of Mexico and Dr. Jim Kirkland, 
Dinamation. 
 
        The Society's work in Mexico began in 1991 in a small pueblo, Rincon 
Colorado, 
near Saltillo, Coahuila. Today, in great part due to Expedition Participants 
willingness to 
become a part of the effort and draw attention to the resource, the pueblo has 
a dinosaur 
museum and the quarries have become a nationally known reserve.  
        Those who have been lucky enough to see the birth of a dinosaur 
paleontology 
program in this country have had an experience of a lifetime. This Expedition 
is more than 
just an opportunity to help with important research, it's a chance to make an 
impact on 
lives, as has been done for the children of Rincon Colorado.  
        The quarries are located 186 miles southwest of Laredo, Texas, in the 
rugged but 
beautiful Chihuahuan desert. These Expeditions have uncovered remains from what 
appears to have been an "Everglades  like" environment on a dry delta like the 
modern Nile 
Delta..  Preservation in this area is so good that in many instances the 
imprint of dinosaur 
skin is intact.  Dinosaurs include abundant hadrosaurs, with ceratopsians, 
tyrannosaurids 
and dromaeosaurids. There are also many thin beds with abundant marine fossils. 
It is very 
unusual to find such an abundance of dinosaurs associated with marine and 
brackish water 
environments. 
        The Society's work in Mexico has not only answered many questions about 
this 
ancient environment but has also inspired a sister state agreement between 
Coahuila, 
Mexico and Colorado in the US. 
        Once the capital of Mexico, the city of Saltillo transports you back to 
a simpler 
time. The narrow streets and colonial architecture create the setting ripe for 
adventure. 
Evening tours include markets, cathedrals, a bird museum, serap? factories and 
other points 
of interest. 
 
        Accommodations are at the Hotel Rancho El Morillo, Saltillo, Mexico; a 
converted 
plantation that you will never want to leave. Its rooms are comfortable and 
food delicious. 
 
        Included in your fee: six nights stay; breakfasts, lunches and dinner; 
ground 
transportation from Monterry; all equipment and instruction.     
 
Mexico_     (6 day)  
        Fee: $1,200 + $125 for single occupancy         Deposit: $100 
        Start Date: March 28, 1998 
        Fly into Monterry, Mexico 
 
For more information call: 1 (800) 344-3466

THE DAWN OF DINOSAURS IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOON, ARGENTINA 
 
March 7-19, 1998 
 
Assist  the Dinamation International Society in its efforts to support the 
University of San 
Juan in its research on the origins of dinosaurs of Ischigalasto. Field 
Research is led by 
Prof. William Sills, University of San Juan, Mendoza, San Juan Province, 
Argentina. 
 
        Eoraptor, the earliest known dinosaur was discovered from the rocks in 
the Vall? de 
Luna or Valley of the Moon. It is this dinosaur and others we will be 
excavating in the 
famous Triassic rocks of Ischigalasto. The spice of Latin America combined with 
one of 
the richest fossil areas on the globe make this expedition a favorite for those 
wanting real 
adventure. 
        In addition we will spend two days exploring old Santiago, Chile, the 
"city under 
the volcano." A definite highlight for those interested in geology, and perhaps 
a small 
amount of adventure, is a bus ride across the Andes from Santiago, Chile, to 
Mendoza, 
Argentina. 
 
        Your fee includes: round trip air fare from Miami and all flights in 
South America; 
double ocupancy accommodations; meals; equipment and instruction. 
  
 
Argentina_     (12 day) 
        Fee: $4,300 + $150 for single occupancy         Deposit: $500 
        Start Date: March 7 1998 
        Trip starts in Miami, Florida 
 
For further information call 1 (800) 344-3466

MID-CRETACEOUS DINOSAURS IN THE LAND OF THE ZUNI                    
 
May 2-8, 1998 
 
        This expedition is at the cutting edge of dinosaur research.  
Expeditioners will be 
exploring dinosaur bearing strata from the middle Cretaceous and excavating the 
first 
significant dinosaur material from this time interval (`92 mya). It is 
predicted that all the 
dinosaurs excavated will be new to science.  
        Expeditioners will be excavating with Dr. James I. Kirkland and Douglas 
G. Wolfe, 
paleontologist for the Mesa Southwest Museum and an expert on the Cretaceous 
rocks of 
the Zuni Basin.  Expeditioners will be staying within walking distance of  a 
museum on the 
Anasazi indians.                         
        Previously discovered dinosaurs include a number of partial hadrosaur 
skeletons, a 
fairly complete dromaeosaur (raptor) skeleton with a skull, parts of a 
tyrannosaurid, teeth 
and armor from a nodosaurid ankylosaur, and a number of sites with ceratopsian 
material. 
The ceratopsian is the oldest horned-dinosaur ever found with brow horns and 
was 
featured in the Nov./Dec. 1997 issue of Earth magazine. During the '97 
Expedition, we 
uncovered a bone bed with this new animal and parts of a tyrannosaurid. We will 
be 
concentrating our efforts on this site, which has proved to be very productive. 
Additionally, 
we will be prospecting for more sites and sampling established microvertebrate 
localities 
and plant localities, which provide a complete picture of the fauna and flora 
during this 
important time interval. 
        Your fee includes: double occupancy accommodations in Springerville, 
Arizona; 
meals; ground transportaion; equipment and instruction; visit to Malapai Indian 
Ruins.  
         
 
Zuni Basin_  (6 day)  
        Fee: $995 + $125 for single occupancy           Deposit: $100 
        Start Dates: May 2 , 1998 
        Fly into Phoenix, Arizona 
 
For more information call 1 (800) 344-3466