All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. Park Paleontology news provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources.
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Article 1: Paleontology of Ohio Coral Reef (Falls of the Ohio) National Natural Landmark
Ohio Coral Reef (Falls of the Ohio) National Natural Landmark on the Indiana–Kentucky border holds one of the most productive and historically significant fossil sites in North America. Approximately 390 million years ago, during the Devonian Period, this was the site of a thriving shallow marine ecosystem, now exposed by the downcutting of the Ohio River. Hundreds of species of invertebrates, vertebrates, and other organisms have been found here in the past two centuries. Read more
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Article 2: Digging the West: A Journey Through Time in the National Parks
“Digging the West: A Journey Through Time in the National Parks” is a storymap that highlights geology and paleontology in 17 National Park Service units of the West. English and Spanish versions have been prepared to reach wide audiences. Read more
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Article 3: NPS Kicks Off First Paleontology Field Camp at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
In January 2026, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area held the first Paleontology Field Camp, a short course that combined field operations, work with paleontological collections from the park, and creation of educational materials. Read more
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Article 4: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Gets First Youth Paleo Intern
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area has significant paleontological resources and many challenges for managing these resources. Paleontology intern Hailey Gregory has helped address these issues by cleaning up the park’s locality database and monitoring localities in burn areas, with a particular focus on fossils of the Conejo Volcanics. Read more
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Article 5: Fossil Crocodylomorphs Across the National Park Service
Crocodylomorphs, including crocodylians and their extinct relatives, are known from body and trace fossils found in more than a dozen units of the National Park Service. The records range in age from the Late Triassic to the Pleistocene and include type specimens for five species, among them the giant Deinosuchus riograndensis from the Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park. Read more