Early Paleontologists - Finding Fossils

Kenya National Museum-East Rudolf

What does KNM-ER stand for?

partial upper limb

What is the ER-47k specimen (what part)?

~1.5mya

When was ER-47k from?

Paranthropus boisei

What species was ER-47k?

yes

Did P. boisei likely use its upper limbs for climbing in trees?

evidence for tree climbing

• thick cortical bone w/ very high bending strength

• phalangeal curvature matching other climbing primates

• gracile thumb

• no styloid process

  • NOT LIKELY having skilled manual manipulation like H. erectus)

Georges Cuvier

Born 1769:

• Monteliard, Jura Mts. (now in France)

  • ruled by Duke of Wurttemburg

Died 1832:

• Paris, France

Cuvier education

Carolinian Academy (Karlsschule) in Stuttgart (1784-1788):

• studied comparative anatomy

• learned dissection skills

tutor

From 1788 - 1795, Cuvier was a ____:

• worked for a noble family in Normandy

• avoided a lot of French Revolution violence

• studied marine invertebrates — mollusks!

Professor of Animal Anatomy

From 1795 - death(?), Cuvier was a ____:

• Paris — National Museum of Natural History (Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle)

• invited by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire as an assistant, then became a prof.

Cuvier government positions

• Inspector-General of public education

• Vice president of the Ministry of the Interior

• State Councillor

  • stayed this under 3 successive French kings

• Knighted & a Baron of France by death

Cuvier contributions

“founding father of paleontology”:

• really established the field of comparative anatomy

• provided a lot of evidence for extinction

• huge amount of research — zoology & paleontology

  • wrote a lot & spoke about

    history of science

Cuvier - extinction

people believed that since God created all animals, they must be perfectly designed & could never go extinct:

• Cuvier found that mammoth bones were different from modern elephants

  • convinced others that they were too big to hide from us, so they had to go extinct

Cuvier - reconstructions

Cuvier & others could reconstruct extinct species from limited evidence.

Cuvier - pterosaurs

1st scientist to publish work identifying a fossil as a flying reptile.

Cuvier - catastrophism

our planet endured occasional sudden violent events which caused the extinction of species:

• provided evidence to back it up

• argued against James Hutton’s theory of uniformitarianism

Cuvier - stratigraphy

rock strata research supported faunal succession principle:

• animals from different geological eras don’t appear in the same rock layers

• deeper layer = older fossil

Cuvier publications

• 1797 - Elementary Survey of the Natural History of Animals

• 1800-05 - Lessons on Comparative Anatomy

• 1810 - Historical Report on the Progress of the Sciences…

Cuvier views on evolution

• didn’t believe in it

• if organisms changed anatomy over time, they wouldn’t survive

  • mummified ibises & cats are no different from modern ones

Mary Anning

Born: 1799 in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England

• Parents: Richard & Mary

• 1 of the 2 out of 10 children that survived to maturity

  • brother — Joseph

Died: 1847 (due to breast cancer)

Anning background

• poor family

• father was a cabinetmaker

  • collected/sold fossils (after his death in 1810, wife & kids continued doing this)

• received charity in addition to fossil sales

• 1817 — Lt.-Col. Thomas Birch purchased some fossils & sold off his collection to financially support the family

• by mid-1820s, Mary took charge of the fossil business

Anning education

• not formally taught

• some fossil hunting skills learned from parents & brother

• taught herself:

  • geology

  • paleontology

  • anatomy

  • scientific illustrations

Anning - 1st ichthyosaur

• Joseph found it, but Mary dug out the outline

• scientists thought it was a crocodile

• name means “fish lizard,” but it’s a marine reptile

Anning - 1st plesiosaur

• complete skeleton

• rumors it was fake — Cuvier disputed it (eventually admitted mistake)

• scientific community was hesitant to recognize her work

Anning - 1st pterosaur

• 1st one outside of Germany

• a strange jumble of bones w/ a long tail & wings

Anning - coprolites

took the time to look inside these & saw the remains of fish (bones & scales)

Anning - public interest

• fossils that were sold fueled public interest in geology & paleontology

• inspired famous geologist/childhood friend Henry De la Beche to paint 'Duria Antiquior - A More Ancient Dorset' in 1830

  • sold prints to raise money for Mary

• Plesiosaurus inspired geologist Thomas Hawkins' Book of the Great Sea Dragons, published in 1840