2011/01/06 by James E. Fassett, Larry M. Heaman, Antonio Simonetti · 5 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Computer Science · #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
paper · doi:10.1130/g31466.1
openalex publication_date 2011/01/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Research Article| February 01, 2011 Direct U-Pb dating of Cretaceous and Paleocene dinosaur bones, San Juan Basin, New Mexico James E. Fassett; James E. Fassett 1552 Los Nidos Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Larry M. Heaman; Larry M. Heaman 2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Antonio Simonetti Antonio Simonetti 3Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, Cushing Hall, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information James E. Fassett 1552 Los Nidos Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA Larry M. Heaman 2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Antonio Simonetti 3Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, Cushing Hall, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 10 Jun 2010 Revision Received: 17 Sep 2010 Accepted: 22 Sep 2010 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2011 Geological Society of America Geology (2011) 39 (2): 159–162. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31466.1 Article history Received: 10 Jun 2010 Revision Received: 17 Sep 2010 Accepted: 22 Sep 2010 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation James E. Fassett, Larry M. Heaman, Antonio Simonetti; Direct U-Pb dating of Cretaceous and Paleocene dinosaur bones, San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Geology 2011;; 39 (2): 159–162. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G31466.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Vertebrate fossils have been important for relative dating of terrestrial rocks for decades, but direct dating of these fossils has heretofore been unsuccessful. In this study we employ recent advances in laser ablation in situ U-Pb dating techniques to directly date two dinosaur fossils from the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado, United States. A Cretaceous dinosaur bone collected from just below the Cretaceous-Paleogene interface yielded a U-Pb date of 73.6 ± 0.9 Ma, in excellent agreement with a previously determined 40Ar/39Ar date of 73.04 ± 0.25 Ma for an ash bed near this site. The second dinosaur bone sample from Paleocene strata just above the Cretaceous-Paleogene interface yielded a Paleocene U-Pb date of 64.8 ± 0.9 Ma, consistent with palynologic, paleomagnetic, and fossil-mammal biochronologic data. This first successful direct dating of fossil vertebrate bone provides a new methodology with the potential to directly obtain accurate dates for any vertebrate fossil. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.