Thursday, February 10, 2011
In 2004, twin KU graduates Celina and Marina Suarez discovered a new dinosaur species; now the species is officially named after them: geminiraptor suarezarum.
The 29-year-old geochemists from San Antonio made the discovery while doing research at a separate site in Utah. The two began following a layer of rock that strayed from the site. Marina wandered into a gully where they saw bones sticking out from the rock.
“I remember my sister saying ‘Wow! Jackpot!’” Celina said. “We were pretty excited and knew we had found a significant site.”
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New dinosaur species named after KU grads
In 2004, twin sisters Marina and Celina Suarez discovered a new dinosaur species in Utah. Now that species will be named after the twins. Its name: Geminiraptor suarezarum.
After spotting limb and toe bones, the sisters came back the next morning with a group of paleontologists. The dinosaur was identified as a troodontid, a small two-legged carnivore that is over 125 million years old.
“It’s the oldest of the troodontids from North America,” Celina said. “We can tell by relative dating of the rocks that they are found in.”
The twins have been interested in fossils since their childhood, and both chose the University to obtain their Ph.D.s.
“I don’t know if I can remember a time where I didn’t want to do this for a living; my earliest memories are of collecting rocks,” Marina said. “Me and my sister and friends spent a lot of time looking for fossils.”
The twin’s KU advisor, Luis Gonzales, remembers the Suarez’s time at the University fondly.
“They were very close and quite inseparable,” Gonzales said. “It wasn’t fair to me that when I had fights with grad students, it was one, but with them, it was two.”
Celina is currently doing a post-doctorate fellowship at Boise State University, and Marina is doing a fellowship at John Hopkins University.
“My mom said I could travel the world, but I definitely was not allowed to leave the planet,” Marina said.
— Edited by Caroline Bledowski
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