LIVINGSTON FOSSIL FINDS
Specimens unearthed
The north Calgary landscape is slated for significant residential development, and as researchers have found, that landscape also provides a valuable peek at what roamed these parts millions of years ago.
A portion of the land that will include the Livingston community by Brookfield Residential has turned up specimens that reach back an estimated 61 to 62 million years.
Livingston is on land straddling Centre Street, west of Deerfoot Trail, measuring 519 hectares, making it about one-third the size of Okotoks. Its builders include Morrison Homes, Cedarglen Homes, Jayman Built, Brookfield, Homes by Avi, and Avi Urban.
The discovery of fossil-bearing rock was made during the trench- ing and grading process by Lisa Bohach, senior paleontologist at Stantec.
Paleontological monitoring is often required by the provincial government when areas that may contain fossils are excavated. There are several fossil sites in this general part of Calgary, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology says.
Researchers at the Tyrrell museum have since been exploring this end of the Livingston land, uncovering “in excess of 400 (specimens) last field season, probably well over 400 or 500 specimens this year, as well,” says Craig Scott, curator of fossil mammals at the museum. This rock post-dates dinosaurs, which became extinct 66 million years ago.
“The fossils being found there are very tiny,” Scott says.
The majority are from small, fur- ry mammals, but there have been fish, amphibians and reptiles, too.
“Most of what’s coming out of that site mammal-wise is teeth. And the reason being is enamel is really hard. Teeth tend to resist breakdown through the processes of fossilization,” he says.
Small bones have been unearthed at the site, as well.
“It’s really a snapshot of an inter- esting ancient ecosystem,” Scott says.
And there may be more to come. At the site where specimens are being discovered — dubbed Living Stone Quarry — work by researchers from the museum is ongoing.
Scott credits Brookfield for its help, allowing museum researchers to gather as many fossils as they can.
“Brookfield has been absolutely amazing to work with, because they’ve gone above and beyond to allow us to come in there and collect as much as possible,” Scott says.
Two of the localities discovered on Livingston land have been named after Brookfield employees: Brendan’s Basement for Brendan McCashin, senior development manager, and Nolan’s Nook for Nolan Frese, development manager.
On Brookfield, “They’ve been in complete agreement with what it is we’re doing and have really helped facilitate our work,” Scott says.
“The specimens don’t occur right at the surface, they’re below, in some cases, several feet of rock. So to get access to that easier, (Brookfield) has come in with a backhoe.”
The jaw of a mammal called Leptacodon, discovered on the Livingston land, is now on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology’s Grounds for Discovery exhibit, which shines a light on specimens collected through partnership with industries, such as oil and gas, road construction, and residential development.
“When we’re excavating and digging to build a future community, it’s really exciting to be connected to the past,” says Kurt Kadatz, Brookfield’s senior manager, communications.
“Our team was thrilled to be part of an active paleontological site and see the Leptacodon specimen be part of the Tyrrell’s exhibit.”
While Scott says many of the small mammal specimens found at the Livingston site are not closely linked to mammals living today, he notes Leptacodon as a possible exception.
“Mammals have been around for a very long time, but after the dinosaurs were extinct they really started to ramp up their diversity,” he says. “You start to see more and more kinds of mammals that you could relate to modern mammals, but by and large, most of them are not closely related to living mammals.”
Leptacodons, however, could be related to the shrews and hedgehogs we see today.
“The really important thing about this area is that it represents a period of time that is not particularly well-represented,” Scott says.
“We have a good record of mammals in Alberta from some parts of the Paleocene (a unit of geological time extending from about 55 million to 66 million years ago). Some parts of that 10 million years are well-represented, but not this part, that the site at Livingston represents.
“One of the things I’m really interested in is how mammal communities are changing through the Paleocene and the more data points that I can get, the more nearly complete the picture becomes,” Scott says. “So it’s important from that perspective.”