Map showing location of the Mount Kirkpatrick dinosaur site, with stratigraphic context on the right
Mount Kirkpatrick holds one of the most important fossil sites in Antarctica, the Hanson Formation. Because Antarctica used to be warmer and supported dense conifer and cycad forest, and because all the continents were fused into a giant supercontinent called Pangaea, many ancient Antarctic wildlife share relatives elsewhere in the world. Mount Kirkpatrick holds the first non-avian dinosaur scientifically named on the continent, the large theropodCryolophosaurus named by paleontologists William R. Hammer and William J. Hickerson in 1994.[3] The other genus of non-avian dinosaur from this locality is the early sauropodomorphGlacialisaurus named by Nathan Smith and Diego Pol in 2007.[4] Indeterminate fossils of the herbivorous tritylodontsynapsid and dimorphodontidpterosaur have also been identified.[5]
84°20′S167°08′E / 84.333°S 167.133°E / -84.333; 167.133.
A prominent mountain, 4,120 metres (13,520ft) high, standing 4 nautical miles (7.4km; 4.6mi) east of Mount Kirkpatrick.
Named by the US-ACAN for Lieutenant Commander Richard G. Dickerson, United States Navy, VX-6 aircraft commander during United States Navy Operation Deep Freeze, 1964.[7]
Decennial Peak
84°22′S166°02′E / 84.367°S 166.033°E / -84.367; 166.033.
A peak 4,020 metres (13,190ft) high situated 3 nautical miles (5.6km; 3.5mi) southwest of Mount Kirkpatrick.
Mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1958-65.
Named by US-ACAN in recognition of the Decennial of the Institute of Polar Studies, Ohio State University, in 1970, the same year the University celebrated its Centennial.
The University and the Institute have been very active in Antarctic investigations since 1960.[8]
