The Navajo Researcher Reviving A Desert Peach | A New Dino With Blade-Like Horns

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Apr 16, 2025

Mark Loewen is a vertebrate paleontologist studying the evolution of dinosaurs, while Reagan Wytsalucy is a plant scientist dedicated to reviving traditional Native American crops. They discuss the exciting discovery of Lokiceratops, a newly identified dinosaur with unique horns, challenging current paleontological understandings. Reagan also shares her mission to locate the Southwest peach, an ancient fruit vital to Navajo culture, highlighting its historical significance and the need to reconnect with indigenous agricultural practices.

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ANECDOTE

Discovery of Lokiceratops

Savannah Carpenter and Mark Loewen discovered Lokiceratops when puzzling together fossils from Montana.\n- Initially misidentified, the bones revealed a new horned dinosaur unique to science.

INSIGHT

Dinosaur Evolution Like Birds

Several closely related horned dinosaurs lived in one small area, defying old paleontology ideas.\n- Dinosaurs evolved like birds, showing species diversity despite close proximity.

ANECDOTE

The Fossil Lick Test

Savannah Carpenter learned to identify fossils by licking rocks to feel the texture difference.\n- The lick test helps differentiate porous bone from normal rock, though it's not recommended to try.

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Bringing back Southwest peach orchards won’t be easy, but researchers are on the lookout for remaining trees—and they need help. And, the newly discovered Lokiceratops is challenging paleontologists’ understanding of how horned dinosaurs evolved and existed together.

How A Navajo Plant Researcher Is Reviving A Desert Peach

When you think of states known for their peaches, Utah might not be at the top of your list. But there is a variety—the Southwest peach—that grows in this arid landscape, and Native communities have cultivated this tree since the 1600s. But many of the orchards were intentionally destroyed by colonizers hundreds of years ago, and the remaining trees are now scattered across the region.

A local scientist and member of the Navajo Nation is on a mission to track down Southwest peach trees so we can learn more about how these peaches are so well-suited to grow in the desert.

At a live event in Salt Lake City in March, Host Flora Lichtman spoke with Reagan Wytsalucy, plant scientist and assistant professor at Utah State University Extension in San Juan County, Utah. She researches traditional Native American crops, including the Southwest peach.

Meet Lokiceratops, A Giant Dinosaur With Blade-Like Horns

The Intermountain West is a dinosaur nerd’s dream because it’s such a hotspot for fossils. Some of the most famous dino fossils in the world, like T. rex, triceratops, and stegosaurus can be found in western North America. So, of course, Science Friday couldn’t go to Salt Lake City, Utah, without digging into some dinosaur science.

At a live event in Salt Lake City in March, Host Ira Flatow spoke with the scientists behind the discovery of Lokiceratops, a large dinosaur with impressive horns that was unveiled in 2024. Dr. Mark Loewen, vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Utah and the Natural History Museum of Utah; and Savhannah Carpenter, paleontologist and school outreach coordinator at the Natural History Museum of Utah, discuss how they figured out Loki was a new dinosaur, the process of describing and naming the fossil, and what it taught them about dino evolution.

Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

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