A banner year for new fossil finds
From the Morden Times
Posted 2 months ago
By Lorne Stelmach
Another successful season of fossil hunting can do a lot more than just add to the already large collection at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden.
As the directors plan a future new home for the centre, new discoveries with each new dig help support their case for the proposed new facility.
"The fossil collection room at the CFDC will soon be over-capacity, and the ability to display quality marine reptile fossil exhibits grows exponentially year after year," said executive director Tyler Schroeder. "So the continued success of the annual field season does further the case in support of building a new state-of-the-art museum."
The CFDC recently concluded its field season at fossil dig sites along the Manitoba escarpment, and the fossil dig adventure tours experienced a 100 per cent success rate in discovering new fossils each time.
The tours also saw public attendance at an all time high as record numbers of visitors traveled to Morden for the fossil experience of a lifetime, said Schroeder.
One of the dig sites was a real "hot spot" this year, yielding fossils of birds, mosasaurs and even some rare shark teeth. One of the shark teeth discovered late this year is the single best preserved shark tooth within the museum's vast collection.
The CFDC excavated and collected numerous new fossil specimens which are being cleaned in the museum laboratory to be added to the permanent collection.
The CFDC had 18 active dig sites on the escarpment, ranging from within a few kilometres of the US border to the Miami area.
What was more exciting was that some of the new specimens came from sites which hadn't been visited since the early 1980s when bentonite mines were last active in the area.
"It is exciting to return to sites and find that while the mining landscape has been rehabilitated, new fossil discoveries continue to abound," said curator Anita Janzic.
"And our summer students and our dedicated volunteers really went above and beyond this season," she added. "Their enthusiasm was contagious, and it carried over to the program participants. I think the level of optimism greatly enhanced our ability to discover new fossils!"
Indeed, the fossil collection itself is gaining increased notoriety in the scientific community, as guest researchers from China, Tokyo, Drumheller, and West Virginia visited the centre to view and study specimens.
The fossil collection at the CFDC is the single largest collection of marine reptile fossils in Canada, and the prize specimen is 'Bruce' - a 43 foot mosasaur which is the largest in Canada.
CFDC scientists, with the support of research funding provided by Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism, and Sport, also spent the season working on a special geology mapping project of the Pierre shale formation. Janzic said this project will help to provide a more precise geological and historical context to the large fossil collection.
The summer season also saw the improvement and modernization of many of the exhibits in the CFDC gallery including the addition of new skeletal mounts as well as text and image panels.
Schroeder said they expect more exhibit upgrades to be completed over the coming winter to provide for a dynamic and more engaging visitor experience.
In addition, the CFDC also recently hosted the 2nd Manitoba Paleontology Symposium, where scientists and researchers from all across Canada and parts of the United States came to present independent research and discover the science taking place here.
The field season ended with a trip to Dauphin, where CFDC paleontologists and volunteers were invited to provide assistance to the Fort Dauphin Museum with a large fossil crocodile, which is currently being cleaned in the fossil lab in Morden.
Janzic said another ambitious field season is already being planned for 2010 with known quality fossil specimens still awaiting excavation.
