A team of researchers in Britain did a new analysis of hundreds of dinosaur skeletons and have concluded that the current classification of dinosaurs into two major groups called the Saurischia (“lizard-hipped”) and Ornithischia (“bird-hipped”), first proposed in 1888, is not correct. Read More →
Huge Skull from Alaska Supports Legends of Ancient Giant Polar Bear
An extremely large bear skull (dated to about 1,300 years ago) found in 2014 on a beach in Alaska could belong to a giant type of polar bear described in legends by Arctic people as distinct from and bigger than modern polar bears.
New Early Jurassic Marine Fossil Lagerstätte Found in Alberta
Paleontologists use the German term Lagerstätte [storage place] for fossil sites with exceptional preservation and abundant fossils. Such deposits are rare worldwide. Stonerose in Washington state is considered an example of a Lagerstätte for plant fossils. Now a new Lagerstätte for marine animals (invertebrates and vertebrates) has been found at Ya Ha Tinda in Alberta, Canada, and dates from the same time period as similar marine fossil sites in Italy, Germany, and Great Britain. The special preservation (including soft tissues) may be the result of low oxygen levels in the water at the time, preventing decay before the animals were buried in sediment.
Rowan C. Martindale, Theodore R. Them II, Benjamin C. Gill, Selva M. Marroquín, and Andrew H. Knoll (2017) A new Early Jurassic (ca. 183 Ma) fossil Lagerstätte from Ya Ha Tinda, Alberta, Canada. Geology 45:. 255-258, doi:10.1130/G38808.1 http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/45/3/255.abstract
New Fossil Crabs From British Columbia and Oregon
Homolid crabs (known as “porter crabs” or “carrier crabs” ) are long-legged, deep water crabs that get their common name from carrying sponges, corals, and even urchins on the back of their carapace using a special pair of legs, a behavior thought to be a defense or camouflage against predators. Their fossils have been rare from the West Coast. A new paper names describes a new genus of homolid crab (Cretalamoha) from the Pender Formation on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and a new species (Paromola roseburgensis) from the early Eocene Roseburg Formation in Oregon. Another fossil homolid crab named Homola vancouverensis was found in the Eocene Hoko River Formation of Washington State and described in 2001.
Torrey Nyborg and Alessandro Garassino (2017) New Occurrences of Fossil Homolidae from the Eastern Pacific. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana 69(1): 135 ‒ 148
http://boletinsgm.igeolcu.unam.mx/bsgm/vols/epoca04/6901/%286%29Nyborg.pdf
Evidence Claimed of Humans in Yukon in Canada as Early as 24,000 Years Ago
The DNA evidence from Kennewick Man and from other even more ancient human remains adds support to a theory that a genetically distinct human population developed in the Bering Strait region on an exposed land area called Beringia that connected Siberia and Alaska when sea levels where lower during the Ice Ages. Read More →
Kennewick Man Reburied by Local Northwest Tribes
On February 17, 2017, members of Northwest tribes came to the Burke Museum and took the remains of Kennewick Man, which had been stored at the museum since 1998. The next day (February 18), the tribal members reburied the “Ancient One,” as he was called, in a ceremony at an undisclosed spot on the Columbia Plateau. This brings a formal end to a long legal and cultural dispute that brought scientists, the federal government, and tribal peoples into conflict over the 9,000-year-old human remains found along the Columbia River in 1996. Read More →
Paleontological Articles from Washington Geology Magazine
Listed below are links to articles covering topics of paleontological interest regarding the Pacific Northwest. These articles have been reproduced for your convenience with permission from Washington Geology magazine.
| 1986 | Eocene Flora and Fauna Unearthed at Republic |
Joseph, Nancy L. | ||
| 1988 | The Blue lake Rhinoceros vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 4-8 |
Kaler, Keith L. | ||
| 1992 | Current Research on Eocene Conifers at Republic, Washington vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 20-23 |
Wehr, Wesley C. and Schorn, Howard E. |
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Insects of the Klondike Mountain Formation, Republic, Washington vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 15-19 |
Lewis, Standley E. | |||
| 1993 | Fossil Mayflies from Republic, Washington vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 35-37 |
Lewis, Standley E. and Wehr, Wesley C. |
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| 1994 | The Eocene Orchards and Gardens of Republic, Washington vol. 22, no. 3, September 1994, pp. 27-34 |
Wehr, Wesley C. and Hopkins, Donald Q. |
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| 1995 | Palm Fossils from Northwest Washington vol. 23, no. 2, June 1995, pp. 21-26 |
Mustoe, George E. and Gannaway, Wes L. |
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Early Tertiary Flowers, Fruits and Seeds of Washington and Adjacent Areas vol. 23, no. 3, September 1995, pp. 3-16 |
Wehr, Wesley C. | |||
Implications of Middle Eocene Feathers and Crayfish from Republic, Washington vol. 23, no. 4, December 1995, pp. 6-10 |
Wehr, Wesley C. and Barksdale, Lisa L. |
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| 1996 | Republic Leaf Deposits and Eocene Ecology vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, p. 19 |
Burnham, Robyn J. | ||
The Presence of Fagaceae (Oak Family) in Sediments of the Klondike Mountain Formation (Middle Eocene), Republic Washington vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, pp. 20-21 |
Gandolfo, Maria | |||
The Conifer Flora from the Eocene Uplands at Republic, Washington vol. 24, no. 2, December 1996, pp. 22-24 |
Schorn, Howard E. and Wehr, Wesley C. |
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Paleobotanical Significance of Eocene Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds from Republic, Washington vol. 24, no. 2, December 1996, pp. 25-27 |
Wehr, Wesley C. and Manchester, Steven R. |
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Pollen and Spores Characteristics of Eocene Sediments of Republic, Washington vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, p. 28 |
Leopold, Estella B., Updegrave, Cindy A. and Maier, Katie |
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A Checklist of Fossil Insects from Republic, Washington vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, p. 29 |
Wehr, Wesley C. and Barksdale, Lisa L. |
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The Eocene Fishes of Republic, Washington vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, pp. 30-31 |
Wilson, Mark V. H. | |||
The Significance of the Princeton Chert Permineralized Flora to the Middle Eocene Upland Biota of the Okanogan Highlands vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, pp. 32-36 |
Pigg, Kathleen B. and Stockey, Ruth A |
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Volcanic Arcs and Vegetation vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, pp. 37-39 |
Myers, Jeffery A. | |||
The Republic Highlands vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, p. 40 |
Wing, Scott L. and DiMichele, William A. |
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The Role of Republic Flora in Documenting the Floristic Evolution of the Northern Hemisphere vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, pp. 41-42 |
Johnson, Kirk R. | |||
A Brief history of the Stonerose Interpretive Center vol. 24, no. 2, June 1996, pp. 43-44 |
Perry, Madilane and Barksdale, Lisa |
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Marine Vertebrate Paleontology on the Olympic Peninsula vol. 24, no. 3, September 1996, pp. 17-25 |
Barnes, Lawrence G. and Goedert, James L. |
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| 1997 | Paleogeography and Paleontology of the Early Tertiary Chuckanut Formation, Northwest Washington vol. 25, no. 3, September 1997, pp. 3-18 |
Mustoe, George E. and Gannaway, Wesley L. |
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Museum Specialists Visit Republic’s Fossil Site vol. 25, no. 4, December 1997, pp. 22-24 |
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Eocene Megafossils From the Needles-Gray Wolf Lithic Assemblage of the Eastern “Core Rocks”, Olympic Peninsula, Washington vol. 25, no. 4, December 1997, pp. 25-29 |
Squires, Richard L. and Goedert, James L. |
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First Record of Cycad Leaves from the Eocene Republic Flora vol. 25, no. 4, December 1997, p. 37 |
Hopkins, Dennis J. , Jr. and Johnson, Kirk R. |
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| 1998 | Marine Fauna of the Middle Eocene Tukwila Formation, King County vol. 26, no. 1, April 1998, pp. 13-19 |
Nesbitt, Elizabeth A. | ||
The Sloth, the President, and the Airport vol. 26, no. 1, April 1998, pp. 40-42 |
McDonald, H. Gregory | |||
Early Miocene Trace Fossils from Southwest Washington vol. 26, no. 2/3, September 1998, pp. 48-58 |
Kaler, Keith L. | |||
Notes on the new Washington State fossil, Mammuthus columbi vol. 26, no. 2/3, September 1998, pp. 68-69 |
Barton, Bax R. | |||
| 1999 | Some Notable Finds of Columbian Mammoths from Washington State vol. 27, no. 2/3/4, December 1999, pp. 23-27 |
Barton, Bax R. | ||
| 2001 | Washington’s Fossil Forests vol. 29, no. 1/2, September 2001, pp. 10-20 |
Mustoe, George E. | ||
On the Trail of Washington Dinosaurs vol. 29, no. 1/2, September 2001, pp. 21-27 |
Girouard, Samuel P. | |||
Another Whale of a Tale vol. 29, no. 1/2, September 2001, pp. 28-29 |
Robles, Bryan | |||
A New Look at an Old Landslide vol. 29, no. 1/2, September 2001, pp. 35-38 |
Hill. Richard L. |