The two types of fossils that can found in the Connecticut Valley, in regards to dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, are their fossilized remains and the footprint impressions they left in rocks. Between the two, the fossilized remains offer a more precise image and clearer information about the dinosaurs that used to roam the region. The Anchisaurus, Yaleosaurus, Ammosaurus, and Coelophysis were identified and named mainly as a result of the findings of their skeletons or parts of their skeletons. The Achisaurus, for example, we understand to be around six to eight feet in length, had strong hind limbs, and had a long neck.
On the other hand, footprint impressions offer much less clear information that Colbert describes as hazy. The one advantage of footprint impressions is that they are in greater abundance relative to fossilized remains. Still, the information we can gain from them is very limited due to the difficulty in interpretation and the fact that they must be matched with dinosaur bones. The footprints found were given names but few have been correlated with a dinosaur. They could tell us information about the average size of dinosaurs that inhabited the region and which dinosaurs were abundant. However, as Dr. Donald Baird stated in the Colbert article, the information from footprints is very much speculative and not concrete due to many missing pieces of information. For example, many bones of prosauropods indicate their presence in the region but their is no evidence of their presence according to footprints. If footprints can not be correlated with bones, the information gained is very limited and becomes the subject of speculation or assumptions.
Overall, the pattern we can see here is that our knowledge of things that existed millions of years ago is based on a combination of some factual findings but assumptions and estimations also contribute significantly. In the Bedrock Geology of the Hartford South Quadrangle, we see this pattern persist. Identifying the sedimentary formations was difficult to poor exposure that resulted from years of weatherings. As a result, basalt layers were used to estimate information about the sedimentary units. The lack of information limits our understanding. As more discoveries and findings are made, maybe more can be learned
Lithology – the gross physical character of a rock or rock formation
Sinuous – having many curves, bends, or turns
