Re: fossialization and floods

[tidwell@ix.netcom.com]

On 03/18/98 12:41:34 you wrote:
>
>       I was watching an old videotaped NOVA (about T-rex) recently when a 
>thought occurred to me.  For an animal as big as a dinosaur to become 
>a fossil, it has to be buried fast enough that scavangers can't get 
>to it.  Am I correct in thinking that these conditions usually 
>only occur in floods?
>       I realize that there are some exceptions to the rule (such as the 
>Gobi dinos that buried by collapsing sand banks), but my point is 
>that a majority of fossils of large animals are created by floods.  
>Am I right or wrong?
>                                       Neil T. Hicks
>
>

May misconceptions about the fossilization process abound. In order to 
partially remedy this, a talk will be given at Dinofest in April by Ken 
Carpenter on  How to Fossilize a Dinosaur.  I highly recommend it, as Ken 
has been studying bone histology and fossilization for quite a while.

                        Virginia Tidwell