FY24-ImpactReport-Digital - Flipbook - Page 17
Reynolds
Field Station
Partnership
“
T
he Perot Museum of Nature and Science is excited
to announce our new research partnership with
the Reynolds Field Station (RFS) in New Mexico.
Our paleontology team is now actively conducting
昀椀eldwork to study the ancient plant communities
preserved in the site’s rich geological deposits, which
cover the Coniacian Stage of the Cretaceous Period
(about 89-86 million years ago). During this time, most
of Texas was covered by a shallow sea teeming with
marine life, as evidenced by some of the fossils on
display in the Museum.
Led by our experts, Dr. Dori Contreras and Dr. Ron
Tykoski, our 昀椀eld teams are collecting diverse plant
fossils from multiple rock layers across the site while
also searching for the more elusive fossil remains of
animals. This hands-on approach allows us to examine
everything from fossil leaves and reproductive
structures to wood and microscopic pollen.
85 million-year-old fossilized
leaves revealed at RFS
As we analyze these remains, we’re reconstructing a
comprehensive picture of how plants were distributed
across the landscape during a critical evolutionary
period when 昀氀owering plants began their rise to
ecological dominance. Our 昀椀eld research, combined
with institutional partnerships and the incredible
environment at RFS, creates valuable opportunities
for students, citizen scientists, and professional
collaborators to participate directly in the scienti昀椀c
process. Collected specimens are carefully prepared
for preservation in the Perot Museum’s collections for
future research and education.
We look forward to sharing our discoveries through
scienti昀椀c publications, conference presentations,
and engaging public programs that will bring this
fascinating chapter of Earth’s history to life.
“ We are really excited about our partnership with RFS and the new fossil 昀椀ndings
that are being generated even at this early stage of research. Until now,
scientists have had a limited understanding of what life on land looked like in
North America during the period preserved in the rocks at RFS — it had been a
blank spot in our deep-time history books. We have a fabulous record of what
existed in the shallow sea that covered DFW at the time, but through these new
fossil explorations, we 昀椀nally get to develop a picture of life on nearby land.”
— Dr. Dori Contreras
Director of Paleontology and Curator of Paleobotany, Perot Museum
2024 Impact Report | 17
