RE: Maryland Fossils

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> I recently saw a website that speaks of a very large probable dromaeosaur
> that was found in Washington DC back in 1959.  The site, if anybody is
> interested, is at http://www.glue.umd.edu/~lfsxdth/raptor/index.html .  I
> was just wondering if any more news had come to light concerning this
> dinosaur.  Also, the size estimates have this animal at roughly the same
> size as Utahraptor, and it is roughly the same age.  Could they
> possibly be
> the same genus?  After all, WWD suggested that Utahraptor IN THEORY could
> have ranged from Utah as far as England.  Maryland is not nearly that far
> away, and as far as I know, was not cut off from western North
> America by a
> seaway that early in the Cretaceous.

There are indeed land connections from eastern to western North America in
most of the Early Cretaceous.

Note that the specimen in question is only known from a photograph, so it is
not available for detailed examination.

The dinosaur would be too late to be a contemporary of _Utahraptor
ostrommaysorum_ (the latter is Barremian; the D.C. rocks are Aptian-Albian,
and so equivalent of the middle Cedar Mountain or the Cloverly).  It is
POSSIBLE that they could be from the same genus, but as said the D.C. form
is known only from a never-described caudal and _Utahraptor_ itself from
only fragmentary material, so it is impossible to say at present.

As for the possibility of a European _Utahraptor_ species: WWD includes
_Utahraptor_ in Europe based on shared faunal elements in the lower part of
the Cedar Mountain Fm. of Utah and various Barremian-aged units in Great
Britain and on the Continent.  However, _Utahraptor_ itself has not been
found Over There, nor _Baryonyx_ on this side of the Pond.  Would not be at
all surprised to find a Euro-_Utahraptor_ or an American _Baryonyx_, but
these are presently hypothetical.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796