On Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m., the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Museum of Geology will host a press conference regarding a ground-breaking new publication from Dr. James Martin, a professor of geology and geological engineering and executive curator of the Museum of Geology at the School of Mines. The new volume, "The Geology and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Marine Deposits of the Dakotas," published by the Geological Society of America, is a major contribution to the knowledge of marine rocks and fossils from the end of the Age of Dinosaurs in South Dakota.
The book, edited by Martin and David C. Parris, curator of natural history at the New Jersey State Museum, entails a wide variety of subjects from fossils to geochemistry to geology. During the press conference, Martin will detail the scientific breakthroughs examined in the volume, including the first clear recognition of a European mosasaur (Hainosaurus) in North America, a new species of shell-crushing sea lizard from South Dakota, a new species of short-necked plesiosaur ("Loch Ness Monster") and a new species of flightless diving bird.
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