The road to fossils leads through the stunning Avenue of Baobabs, giant iconic trees that are reminders of Madagascar’s once widespread forests.

Dr. Joe Sertich, curator of vertebrate paleontology, purchasing supplies for the field from a vendor at the local market.

Plaster of paris, key to collecting fossils, is processed and then transported hundreds of miles to the field using trucks, cattle-driven carts, and manpower.

An early morning view across the Manambolo River, just north of the team’s field site.

Museum curators Ian Miller and Joe Sertich above Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, a stunning geological wonder filled with lemurs, chameleons, and birds.

Dr. Ian Miller, curator of paleontology, climbing one of many trails through the limestone spires of Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park.

The field crew completes a round of plastering and encasing huge sauropod dinosaur bones in protective jackets for transport.

A local guide with a 100-million-year-old fossil ammonite, found alongside dinosaur bones indicating that the rocks were deposited just offshore.

Dinosaur bones encased in plaster jackets await transport back to the capital city of Antananarivo.