Comments on: Stories from the Snyder Quarry 3

By: KG2V

KG2V — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:48:00 +0000

I just got to visit Ghost Ranch on a totally unplanned stop (didn’t even know it was there), and got taken on a tour by Mr Downs (OK – Alex )

AMAZING

My whole family thought it was the highlight of our 8 day trip to NM!

By: David Marjanović

David Marjanović — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:25:11 +0000

Surely Effigia didn’t sprawl like that?

I had no idea of Vancleavea… fascinating…

By: Matt Celeskey

Matt Celeskey — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:09:15 +0000

Thanks for the comments, Zach & Laelaps. Phil Bircheff does some great work, and there’s close to a ton of it (literally) in museums across New Mexico.

Zach – there’s not a whole lot of stuff on Vancleavea published…it was only named in 1995, and there are just a few bits and pieces mentioned here and there. But there are a few folks working on it. So with a little patience, there might be more before too long. Based on where its found, I’d guess it was probably freshwater, not marine. Certainly would have needed all that armor if it was sharing waterways with big phytosaurs.

Laelaps – I was planning on submitting the series to The Boneyard (and I’ve got to get the new banners up!), but I’m glad you noticed before I got around to it. Hopefully I’ll have at least one more installment up by Saturday. My knowledge of phytosaurs is pretty sketchy too, but I’m learning a lot lately due to an upcoming project at the day job. I’ll probably have a bit more posted about them here in the next six months or so…

By: Laelaps

Laelaps — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 02:52:29 +0000

Absolutely fantastic series Matt; it’s definitely getting a prime spot in The Boneyard. I agree with Zach about Effigia as well; not my choice of color, but definitely a wonderful reconstruction. The phytosaur photo reminds me how much I love those toothy critters too, even though I must admit my knowledge on them is lacking.

By: Zach Miller

Zach Miller — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:02:32 +0000

That’s a beautiful diorama. I’m very happy to see just how large Effigia is (it’s my favorite example of convergence), as I was under the impression that it was just under a meter in length. Not a fan of the butter coloring, but otherwise it seems like an impressive sculpture. I love the Vancleavea, and if anyone has information on that marine dragon, I’d love to have it!