Thunder Lizards

Did you that the University of Montana in Missoula has a Paleontology Department? Yesterday (October 13), was the very first, official, "National Fossil Day". It was created by the National Park Service in conjunction with Earth Sciences Week. To kick off this special day, the UM Geoscience Department held an open house and invited the public to tour the paleontology facilities.

The Paleontology Department began in 1895 with a grant from the Smithsonian Institute, and originally focused mainly on fossils from Montana and Wyoming (they have since expanded to include global studies). The very first masters degree in Paleontology was earned from UM by Earl Douglas, who also founded Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

1,500 types of specimins are housed here, including 25,000 species of plants, invertebrates and vertibrates from all over the world. The collection at UM contains over 100,000 fossils!

The first thing you notice is the T-Rex skull as you walk into the building. With seven inch fangs exposed by a gaping mouth, it's easy to see how the T-Rex was one of the most feared creatures that ever walked the earth.

Other displays show the snout of a wild boar-like creature that was as big as a large horse, also with impressive fangs; the femur of an emu-like prehistoric bird; examples of sea life (sponges, corals, shells and invertebrates), and mastadon bones and teeth.

We were given a tour of the prep lab, where bones and fossils are cleaned, reconstructed (if neccesary), and photographed for cataloging. Here they had a broken mastadon bone that was in the process of being repaired for display, some fish fossils and a large amonite, 12 inches across. One student was also researching microscopic life from an ancient coral reef off the Oregon coast.

From there we were treated to a view of the collection room, where the public is almost never allowed. Here over the fossils are kept in a state of the art storage facility, and we were allowed to see - and photograph - several displays, including fish fossils so well preserved that you could see the scales.

Another up and coming field is Paleoforensics, the study of disease and injury of fossils. I've always thought forensics would be so interesting, and here it combines two areas of interest to me. If only I could afford the classes...

It was a fascinating look at these impressive creatures, and I also found out that the Paleontology Department is looking for volunteers - I've already added my name to the list!