The discovery of raccoon-sized prehistoric lizard bones, specifically those of “Bolg amondol” serves as a fascinating case study in paleontological research and museum curation. For two decades, these remains were stored in a jar at the Natural History Museum of Utah, highlighting the potential for significant findings to remain overlooked within institutional collections . This species, which existed approximately 77 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period, is believed to have shared its habitat with dinosaurs and exhibits evolutionary traits akin to modern Gila monsters.
Salt Lake City, where it ended up being stored in a jar.
Woolley, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's Dinosaur Institute, opened the jar to find a fragmentary skeleton, which inspired him to dig deeper.
Published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the collaborative research led by the Dinosaur Institute and the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) reveals hidden treasures awaiting future paleontologists in the bowels of museum fossil collections, and the vast potential of paleontological heritage preserved in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and other public lands.
lizard that is an ancestor of modern Gila monsters is pretty cool in and of itself, but what's particularly exciting is what it tells us about the unique 76-million-year-old ecosystem it lived in," said co-author Randy Irmis, associate professor at the University of Utah and curator of paleontology at NHMU.
Paleontologist and co-author Randy Irmis from the University of Utah adds, “Bolg is a great example of the importance of natural history museum collections. Although we knew the specimen was significant when it was discovered back in 2005, it took a specialist in lizard evolution like Hank to truly recognize its scientific importance, and take on the task of researching and scientifically describing this new species.”
The National Monument, established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, was reduced in size by President Donald Trump in 2017, then restored in size by President Joe Biden. It was the center of a federal lawsuit challenging that restoration and the state of Utah’s right to approve mineral mining leases.  
Meanwhile, the former Arsenal midfielder and Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is set to join Arne Slot’s backroom staff as a replacement for John Heitinga. Van Bronckhorst has been out of work since being sacked by Besiktas in November and has extensive coaching experience with Feyenoord, Slot’s former club, the Chinese Super League side Guangzhou and Rangers, whom he led to the 2022 Europa League final.Meanwhile, the former Arsenal midfielder and Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is set to join Arne Slot’s backroom staff as a replacement for John Heitinga. Van Bronckhorst has been out of work since being sacked by Besiktas in November and has extensive coaching experience with Feyenoord, Slot’s former club, the Chinese Super League side Guangzhou and Rangers, whom he led to the 2022 Europa League final.
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