Today, I finally realized why I never became a great fossil hunter. I’ve been wasting my time here in New England. The real action is in Mongolia!

Dig this: When western scientists were allowed back to the once-Soviet-controlled Gobi Desert, they found the greatest trove of ancient bones anywhere in the world. In 1994, an American team prospecting in the badlands of Ukhaa Tolgod discovered 60 new dinosaurs and early mammals on their first day of digging.

One of the most recent finds is a tiny dino called Mahakala omnogovae. About the size of a house cat, this feathered but flightless critter stands as a possible bridge between the mighty raptors of the Cretaceous and the measly birds of today. Paleontologists have been hoping to find itty-bitty beasties like Mahakala to show that lizards evolved into smaller and smaller creatures on their path toward birdhood.

The lucky paleontologist who found the partial skeleton was Alan Turner – yes, the same Mr. Turner from our recent post on raptors. Thanks to his trek through the Gobi, this overachieving Columbia grad student has now published two articles in the journal Science in three weeks.

So, Columbia, you can go ahead and give him his Ph.D. right now. He’s earned it.

(Courtesy: Frank Ippolito © '07)

Tags: Aerial, Ancient, Terrestrial

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