DIGGING DINOSAURS

Fieldwork in the Badlands

of the Late Cretaceous

a talk with Paleontologist, Rob Sula

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2018, 2-3 PM

For over 20 years Rob has been doing pale-ontological fieldwork in the Cretaceous exposures of the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. Join him as he discusses the methods and techniques that he uses when digging dinosaurs. He’ll show us how he preserves, excavates and safely removes large vertebrate fossil specimens. Along the way, Rob will share the hardships and challenges, along with the joys and unexpected surprises of fieldwork.

PALEONTOLOGIST BIO

Rob Sula has hundreds of hours of experience hunting and excavating dinosaurs. As a guide, Rob has led groups prospecting for dinosaur remains in the Hell Creek Formation since 1998. Rob has participated in over 25 major paleontology excavations and has supervised several excavations including three dinosaurs with skin preservation. In 1999 Rob co-discovered the Licking Leaf site, which has produced over 100 new species of late Cretaceous plants. In 2003 Rob found a 36-foot Tylosaurus proriger that was so complete it had preserved skin on the rib cage. The discovery and excavation of this specimen is the subject of the National Geographic Children’s book, Dinosaurs. Rob has contributed, through writing and illustration, to several publications including Mark Renz’s Megalodon Hunting the Hunter and Jack Wittry’s The Mazon Creek Fossil Fauna. Rob has a BFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of Michigan and an Art Education Certification from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.