Eocene Shorebird Trackway Fossil

Description: A fine example of several tracks of an undetermined shorebird member of the Chadriiformes, this one has a few other hints at the environment as well. This diverse order today contains some 349 species in 18 families which radiated rapidly at the end of the Cretaceous to fill various niches by adaptations associated to their feeding techniques. This trackway shows two tracks of one of these shorebirds, perhaps out hunting for a meal. The Green River Formation deposits of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah are best known for their immaculately-preserved fish, but other examples are known as well, as this specimen attests, affording a glimpse of a brief moment nearly 50 million years ago.