| Corral Bluffs Open Space | |
|---|---|
| Corral Bluffs Natural Area | |
  | |
| Location | El Paso County, Colorado, USA |
| Nearest city | Colorado Springs, CO |
| Coordinates | 38°51′47.938″N 104°35′19.794″W / 38.86331611°N 104.58883167°W |
Corral Bluffs is a fossil site outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. It has been designated a Colorado Natural Area by the state of Colorado.[1] Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science have found thousands of exceptionally preserved plant and animal fossils dating back to the first million years following the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.[2][3]
Fossils
[edit]Several mammalian skulls were found in a type of rock called concretion.[2] Among these was a skull belonging to a newly discovered species of small omnivore, Militocodon lydae.[4]
Dinosaur fossils have been found at the base of the bluffs.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Corral Bluffs Open Space | City of Colorado Springs". coloradosprings.gov. Retrieved 2025-12-20.
- ^ a b "Corral Bluffs". Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.
- ^ St. Fleur, Nicholas (October 24, 2019). "Colorado Fossils Show How Mammals Raced to Fill Dinosaurs' Void". New York Times.
- ^ Weaver, Lucas N.; Crowell, Jordan W.; Chester, Stephen G. B.; Lyson, Tyler R. (2024-04-30). "Skull of a new periptychid mammal from the lower Paleocene Denver Formation of Colorado (Corral Bluffs, El Paso County)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31 (2): 16. doi:10.1007/s10914-024-09716-5. ISSN 1573-7055.
- ^ Peterson, Jessica (March 27, 2023). "Corral Bluffs Paleontology Dig". The Maverick Observer.