MAJOR FOSSIL SITE FOUND
‘IT’S A TREASURE TROVE AND WE ARE JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE’
The discovery of a new fossil site in Kootenay National Park is rivalling the original, world-renowned Burgess Shale in its significance, according to researchers.
In the summer of 2012, a team of scientists found the new “Marble Canyon” fossil beds as they explored the area after finding an important deposit near the Stanley Glacier.
“We stumbled across this,” said Jean-Bernard Caron, curator of invertebrate paleontology with the Royal Ontario Museum and an associate professor at the University of Toronto. “In some ways, it’s not serendipitous because we had a plan for exploration. We sort of dreamed we’d find something else.”
Details of the find, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature Communications, suggest the area and its fossils will further the understanding of animal life during the Cambrian Period, when most of the major groups of animals first appear on the fossil record.
Researchers have uncovered organisms new to science and a number of rare species thought only to exist at the original Burgess Shale site — called the Walcott Quarry — in Yoho National Park.
“This is the first time we found a fossil bed someplace that actually matches the Walcott Quarry fossils in terms of diversity and in terms of abundance and in terms of preservation,” said Caron. “It’s almost like a sister fossil site to the Burgess Shale.
“It’s about the same age and tells us much more about where species were distributed during the Cambrian.”
Walcott Quarry, a treasure of fossilized, soft-bodied sea creatures, lies along a steep ridge between Mount Wapta and Field Mountain.
It was discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1909 and is con- sidered one of the most important fossil locations in the world, providing a rare glimpse of the rich density of life and how it was evolving 505 million years ago.
About 200,000 specimens have been collected at the site in the past 100 years.
At the Marble Canyon site, which is 42 kilometres from the original fossil bed, Caron said researchers found 50 animal species — including at least 10 new ones — in just 15 days.
“It’s a treasure trove and we are just scratching the surface,” he said.
Officials with Parks Canada said it’s an important discovery.
“We get to extend the story of the Burgess Shale fossils beyond Yoho National Park into a neighbouring park, Kootenay National Park,” said Alex Kolesch, manager of land use, policy and planning for both national parks. “To me, it makes the story of the Burgess Shale that much more interesting and widespread.
“It really makes you wonder how much more information there is to find.”
Kolesch said the new site has been protected within the park.
“There aren’t any existing trails within the vicinity of the discovery,” he said. “Under the National Parks Act, it is unlawful to remove any natural objects without a permit.
“At this site and at other sites, we employ a variety of protection measures to protect these fossils — that includes things like video surveillance.”
Still, the exact location is being kept under wraps.
Kolesch said they aren’t ruling out guided hikes to the area — similar to the ones offered at Walcott Quarry — in the future. There’s also a new guided hike at Stanley Glacier, where other fossils have been found, being offered this summer.