Paleontologists have long explored Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the border of Arizona and Utah for its fossils, notably its prolific dinosaur tracks — but few bones have ever been found there. But last March, after watching the waters at Lake Powell drop, scientists made a calculated hunch to investigate areas of the lakebed that hadn’t been exposed in 60 years. Their hunch paid off — and then some — with an unprecedented trove of remains that could provide scientists with new insights into one of the early Jurassic’s quirkiest hybrid creatures.

This episode, meet the tritylodont, the 190-million-year-old mammal-like reptile that walked among some of the earliest dinosaurs and might be able to teach us about adapting to climate change.

This episode, host Jennifer Errick speaks with the distinguished team responsible for the discovery: Andrew R.C. Milner, site paleontologist and curator at the Saint George Dinosaur Discovery site in Saint George, Utah; Vincent Santucci, senior paleontologist and Paleontology Program coordinator for the National Park Service; Dr. Hans Sues, senior research geologist and curator of paleontology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; and Dr. Adam Marsh, lead paleontologist and research coordinator at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Episode 25, The Skeleton Crew, was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Linda Coutant.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn about the 286 sites across the National Park System that have known fossils at nps.gov/subjects/fossils

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org

For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America's national parks for present and future generations. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation's only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.

Learn more and join us at npca.org

Episode 157: SSH: Heaven or Shell | LUP 157