New Dinosaur announced at Arizona Museum of Natural History

Arizona Museum Natural History Suskityrannus hazelae announcement press event May 6, 2019

It was with great excitement that Suskityrannus hazelae was announced at a press event with Arizona Museum of Natural History (AZMNH) and Zuni Dinosaur Institute for Geosciences (ZDIG) on Monday May 6, 2019. AZMNH is the repository for the Zuni Basin Paleontological Project (ZBPP) BLM Federal Permit.

Suskityrannus hazelae was named after Hazel Wolfe which mean’s Hazel’s coyote tyrant! It is an incredible honor!!

It was awesome to have so many of the students and volunteers involved in the ZBPP research at this important event! The AZMNH volunteer group, Southwest Paleontological Society has worked with Douglas Wolfe since 1994 and participated in both expeditions that discovered the two partial skeletons. This paper highlights how ZDIG supports a laddered mentorship program, providing young scientist opportunities to form long lasting research partnerships. The three ZBPP principals, Douglas Wolfe, James Kirkland and Robert Denton and two of ZBPP students, Sterling Nesbitt and Andrew McDonald are among the authors on this important discovery.

The announcement of Suskityrannus hazelae in the Journal Nature is the culumulation of over 30 years of research into the unique rocks of the middle Cretaceous by a team of scientists, students and citizen scientists. Suskityrannus hazelae is the fourth dinosaur to be named from the Zuni Basin Paleontological Project, led by Douglas Wolfe.