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The Museum of Natural History in Utah has discovered the remains of an ancient lizard. It all began with a jar that was ignored for many years until a prehistoric lizard that coexisted with dinosaurs 76 million years ago was discovered in one. This lizard, Bolg amondol, provides important insights into Cretaceous environments. This discovery demonstrates that, with careful examination, significant items can be located in museums.
This unexpected finding will help future palaeontology research to better comprehend the present while taking the past into consideration. Let’s begin with this lizard’s story!
An unexpected discovery at a museum
Consider yourself employed at a museum, namely the Museum of Natural History of Utah, where you encounter a jar marked “lizard” on a daily basis. Before a team of scientists from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles decided to examine it one day, you were so accustomed to seeing it that you didn’t think much of it. They discovered that the remains of an unidentified prehistoric reptile from the Late Cretaceous period, some 76 million years ago, were recovered within this jar.
The lizard
Bolg amondol is a lizard that was called after a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel using words in Sindarin, an Elfic language that the author created. Its name highlights the fact that it resembled the monsters in the fantasy tale in appearance, with its head covered in mounds of bone.
After examining the lizard, scientists discovered that it was covered in bone plates that served as a natural shield and that its sharp teeth allowed it to become a small but effective predator.
Small but
Despite not being as large as a dinosaur, the lizard was an excellent hunter. It most likely accomplished this by hunting dinosaur offspring or smaller creatures than Bolg. Small animals are incredibly intelligent in their hunting techniques, thus we shouldn’t undervalue them.
The forgotten fossil with a huge scientific value
The lizard was discovered during material inspection in 2005 during an expedition to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which was the most intriguing part of the find. When paleontologist Hank Woolley looked at Blog’s bones, he discovered they were part of a partial skeleton of a creature that had never been registered. Previously, the bones had been stored in a jar without any thorough investigation.
Cretaceous ecosystem history
This lizard reinforced the notion that Cretaceous ecosystems were more diverse than previously believed by providing fresh insights into the variety of reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs. Furthermore, given that Blog’s cousins were discovered in the Gobi desert, there are clear evolutionary links between animals from Asia and North America. This supports the idea that there are migration routes between continents via the historic Bering Bridge.
Checking scientific archives
This discovery of the lizard also demonstrated the importance of museums and their holdings. Sometimes a significant discovery can be found without going on excursions; carefully reviewing the material that has been gathered is also an excellent alternative. Bolg serves as a metaphor for this and the numerous undiscovered objects in the world’s scientific archives.
The importance of the past to understand our time
Because places like the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which was previously highlighted, continue to display important artifacts that help us comprehend the evolution of life on Earth, we should prioritize their conservation.
Understanding how species evolved and vanished in the past can help us learn how to safeguard our future in light of the current climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
Therefore, you should never assume that the past is meaningless because if we disregard it, we may repeat the events of the past.
