The
Fona fossil material was discovered in multiple different localities of the Mussentuchit Member of the
Cedar Mountain Formation in
Emery County of Utah, United States. The
holotype specimen,
NCSM 33548, was found in the 'Karmic Orodromine locality' and represents the only certain occurrence of
Fona in the lower Mussentuchit Member. This specimen consists of mostly complete and somewhat articulated skeleton. Other outcrops yielded several other specimens referrable to
Fona based on similarities in the skeletal anatomy.
FMNH PR 4581 was found in the 'Manolo site', which is slightly younger than the holotype locality. It is also a mostly complete skeleton, missing most of the cranium, pelvis, and metatarsals. The youngest rocks with
Fona material represent the 'Mini Troll locality'. Here, the skeletons of two well preserved, similarly sized individuals were found together, as well as some bones of juvenile specimens. and academic papers without thorough description, where it was typically mentioned as belonging to an
orodromine thescelosaurid. In 2024, Avrahami et al.
described Fona herzogae as a new genus and species of thescelosaurine ornithopod based on these fossil remains. The
generic name,
Fona, references a figure of the same name in
CHamoru culture (in
Finoʼ CHamoru, an
Austronesian language). Here, Fona (whose name means "the origin") is the ancestral ''maga'håga
, or authoritative female in a clan. According to tradition, she used her powers to turn herself and her brother into the Earth and the life on it, after which she turns into stone. This story recalls the associated skeletons of two Fona
subadults—which may have been siblings or a male/female pair that were fossilized—as well as efforts to recognize the equality of men and women and decolonize paleontology. The specific name, herzogae
, honors Lisa Herzog, the discoverer of the Mini Troll locality from which several Fona'' specimens are known, and her contributions to fossil conservation. == Classification ==