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Paleontology in Connecticut refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Connecticut. Apart from its famous dinosaur tracks, the fossil record in Connecticut is relatively sparse.〔 The oldest known fossils in Connecticut date back to the Triassic period. At the time, Pangaea was beginning to divide and local rift valleys became massive lakes. A wide variety of vegetation, invertebrates and reptiles are known from Triassic Connecticut. During the Early Jurassic local dinosaurs left behind an abundance of footprints that would later fossilize. The first scientifically verified dinosaur bones discovered in North America were uncovered during the 1818 excavation of a well in Connecticut. Other notable finds include the aetosaur ''Stegomus'', the phytosaur ''Clepsysaurus'', and the prosauropod dinosaur ''Anchisaurus''. The Jurassic dinosaur track ''Eubrontes giganteus'' is the Connecticut state fossil. ==Prehistory== No fossils are known in the state of Connecticut that are older than the Triassic period. At that time the central part of the state was the site of alluvial fans and braided streams. As Pangaea began to break up rift valleys formed in the state. These filled with water and became massive lakes.〔 Roughly 200 million years ago, the New Haven Arkose began to be deposited. The phytosaur ''Clepsysaurus'' lived in Connecticut at this time and left behind remains near Simsbury. The herbivorous reptile ''Hypsognathus'' was another Triassic inhabitant of Connecticut and left behind remains near Meriden. The aetosaur ''Stegomus'' was also present and left behind skin impressions in addition to body fossils near Fairhaven.〔 The state's Mesozoic invertebrates included at least two different kinds of mollusk and one insect. Some of the trails of invertebrates left in life have been preserved as trace fossils in Connecticut, although such finds are more common in neighboring Massachusetts.〔 At least six genera and thirteen species of Mesozoic fishes are known from Connecticut.〔 The Mesozoic flora of Connecticut included conifers, cycads, ferns, and rushes.〔 Central Connecticut was still the site of alluvial fans and braided streams into the Jurassic period.〔 Roughly 95% of the dinosaur footprints at Rocky Hill were of the ichnogenus ''Eubrontes''.〔 The dinosaurs footprints of Connecticut and those of neighboring Massachusetts have sometimes been regarded as composing a single continuous site.〔 Other reptiles and amphibians left trace fossils in Connecticut as well as dinosaurs.〔 At least 13 species in seven ichnogenera of non-dinosaurian Mesozoic reptile footprint are known from the state.〔 Connecticut has no Cretaceous rocks in which fossils may have been preserved. This gap in the rock record continues into the Cenozoic era and spans the entire Tertiary period. However, local sedimentation resumed during the Quaternary period as glaciers intruded into the state. Local wildlife preserved in glacial deposits include close relatives of modern clams, crustaceans, and snails. They left their remains in the state's norwest and at Long Island Sound.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paleontology in Connecticut」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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