140 million year old dino catastrophe

["M. J. Murphy" <mjm@pathcom.com>]

Interesting article found at www.nando.com.

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Researcher finds possible evidence of
ancient natural disaster



SHELL, Wyo. (September 13, 1999 8:18 p.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Fossil evidence of a large pileup of
dinosaur bodies may be the remains of a possible natural disaster
more than 140 million years ago.

Kirby Siber, director of a commercial dinosaur museum in Aathal,
Switzerland, said the evidence is contained in a dig he has been
working for the past decade near Shell, in northern Wyoming.

Siber believes the dinosaur fossils represent a remarkable Jurassic
catastrophe, such as a huge hurricane, flood or similar natural event.

"This is not the temporary richness of one trap in one river," Siber
said in Monday's editions of The Billings (Mont.) Gazette. "If there are

dozens here, and we have proven that there are, then there are
probably hundreds or even thousands.

"I'm starting to have visions of a huge catastrophe - maybe still local,

but something that covered an entire lowland in dimensions you
wouldn't see in a single quarry today," Siber said.

Siber's hypothesis has grown out of his 10 years of digging on a
parcel of private land originally known as the Howe Ranch.

University of Wyoming paleontologist Brent Breithaupt said he, too, is
intrigued by Siber's recent finds but hesitates to embrace any single
explanation so soon. He said the attempt to date the fossils is
critical.

"A quick, catastrophic explanation sometimes looks appealing, but it
may not always be the right answer," he said.