VERNAL, Utah — While Vernal is known for dinosaurs, with many being discovered in the area, there is a different kind of creature making waves for being found nearby.
Scientists at the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of State Parks at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum spend their days studying bones, but gathering them is a rarity.
That's why when they heard of a perfectly preserved Ice Age discovery, they were thrilled.
What is it, you ask? Well, those of us here at FOX 13 News are especially excited about it because it is a perfectly preserved red fox skeleton.
Her name is "Roxy," and she was found undisturbed in a cave in the Uintah Mountains, representing one of the most significant Ice Age mammal discoveries in the region.
The bones were known about for years, but it wasn't until the U.S. Forest Service dated some of them that the researchers realized what a rarity they had on their hands. When they learned how old the bones were last year, they knew they had to collect them, and then they recently learned the species.
"This is probably the most exciting vertebrate skeleton I've ever collected," said John Foster, the curator of collections at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. "I hate to say it, but it was a lot more fun than a dinosaur."
The fox skeleton includes skull material, neck, back, tail, ribs, and what Foster describes as one of the best-preserved parts: the left lower jaw.
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Among his favorite elements are the individual claws from the front paws of the animal.
Incredibly, you can make out the details in them as if the fox died just a few years ago, but she's quite a bit older than that.
At 26,000 years old, Roxy predates the pyramids, written language, and even farming.
Red foxes are the most widely distributed terrestrial carnivores in the world.
The team of researchers said the species appeared in North America from Eurasia between 300,000 and 130,000 years ago.
Roxy remained perfectly preserved on the surface of that remote cave until scientists carefully extracted her.
The recovery process was challenging, requiring hours of hiking just to reach the cave entrance, followed by more hours navigating to the back of the cave where the skeleton lay.
"Of course, it was completely nerve-wracking collecting it. The scariest part was deciding that we hadn't missed anything," Foster said. "We're trying not to break anything. It was six hours in there just to get all that done."
Before Roxy was discovered, few Ice Age mammals had been found in northeastern Utah. Foster said the only one of note that he personally knows of is a shin bone of a camel found in the 1980s south of Vernal.
Now that the bones have been acclimated and preserved, the science can begin.
To start, researchers will take small portions of two ribs and send them off to be carbon dated, which should provide dating accuracy within about 100 years.
Next, the team will also analyze ear bones to extract DNA and conduct isotope analysis.
DNA and isotope analysis will unlock what Roxy's diet was like, and if it was any different from modern red foxes.
It also might offer clues to the relationship between different canine species, from foxes to wolves, to my two adorable spaniels.
Finally, one question Foster is hoping the DNA might answer is what color her fur was, since it was the Ice Age, and a red fox might stick out like a sore thumb.
All of this discovery is the reason Foster says he keeps coming back and doing what he does.
"That's kind of the highlights of doing this stuff," he said.
All of this adds up to making Roxy the most important skeleton discovered, ever…
Okay, I made that last sentence up but we're partial at FOX13 since Roxy is one of us!
Following the science that will be done, Roxy's bones will go on display at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park so we all can share in her incredible story.
