Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument contains abundant fossil material in most formations within its borders. These formations range in age from Permian to Cretaceous. More than 800 individual fossil localities are known so far, and almost all areas of the monument that were examined contain at least some fossil material. Important new findings of this survey include: several partial dinosaur skeletons in the Kaiparowits Formation; a ceratopsian skull in the Wahweap Formation; the previously unreported presence of many ammonoid and bivalve genera in the monument in the Dakota, Tropic, and Straight Cliffs Formations; the first fossils of any kind from the Entrada Sandstone within the monument, including a dinosaur tracksite containing more than 250 tracks of at least 30 individuals; previously unrecognized sites and abundances of vertebrate ichnogenera in the Navajo, Kayenta, Moenave, and Chinle Formations; the first ichnofossil material from the Wingate Sandstone in the monument; and a previously unreported sponge genus from the Kaibab Limestone. The Cretaceous rocks exposed within the monument contain one of the best and most continuous records of Late Cretaceous terrestrial life in the world. Research on these strata is still in its earliest stages.

The 52 papers in this vary in content from summaries or state-of-knowledge treatments, to detailed contributions that describe new species. Although the distinction is subtle, the title (Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah) indicates the science of paleontology in the state of Utah, rather than the even more ambitious intent if it were given the title “Vertebrate Paleontology of Utah” which would promise an encyclopedic treatment of the subject. The science of vertebrate paleontology in Utah is robust and intense. It has grown prodigiously in the past decade, and promises to continue to grow indefinitely. This research benefits everyone in the state, through Utah’s muse ums and educational institutions, which are the direct beneficiaries.

Paralic reservoirs reflect a range of depositional environments including deltas, shoreline–shelf systems and estuaries. They provide the backbone of production in many mature basins, and contribute significantly to global conventional hydrocarbon production. However, the range of environments, together with relative sea-level and sediment supply changes, result in significant variability in their stratigraphic architecture and sedimentological heterogeneity, which translates into complex patterns of reservoir distribution and production that are challenging to predict, optimize and manage. This volume presents new research and developments in established approaches to the exploration and production of paralic reservoirs. The 13 papers in the volume are grouped into three thematic sections, which address: the sedimentological characterization of paralic reservoirs using subsurface data; lithological heterogeneity in paralic depositional systems arising from the influence of tidal currents; and paralic reservoir analogue studies of modern sediments and ancient outcrops. The volume demonstrates that heterogeneity in paralic reservoirs is increasingly well understood at all scales, but highlights gaps in our knowledge and areas of current research.

Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called "dinosaurs", are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. These reptilian analogs represent useful models of the myriad adaptations that permit tetrapods to live in the ocean. - First book in more than 80 years devoted exclusively to fossil marine reptiles - Documents the most current research on extinct marine reptiles - Prepared by the world's most prominent experts in the field - Well illustrated