Diatryma footprint (more)

[Phil Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

For the DML archives:
(Text courtesy George Mustoe, WWU, Bellingham)


In 1992, John Patterson discovered what appeared
to be a large track in a siltstone block in the
Green River gorge east of Seattle. Patterson reported
his find to paleontologists at the University of
Washington, but found no one who was interested in
visiting the site. He decided to trim excess matrix
to yield a 70 pound slab that he carried several
miles back to the trailhead at Flaming Geyser State
Park.  Patterson took the specimen to the U.W. Burke
Museum of History and Culture, and he also sent
photographs to several paleontologists in other states.
Initial interpretations were divided. J. Wyatt Durham
and Donald Savage at University of California, Berkley
believed that the specimen was a vertebrate track,
but D.P. Whilsler of the Los Angeles County Museum
of Natural History and U.W. professor John Rensberger
expressed their belief that the "track" was of
inorganic origin. Because the specimen had been
collected within a state park, Patterson relinquished
possession of slab. Given its Eocene age, the most
likely track maker would have been Diatryma,  a
huge flightless bird whose remains have been found
in early Tertiary rocks in Europe and North America.
Dr. Rensberger arranged to have the specimen examined
by Allison Andors, a paleornithologist at the
American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Andor?s
initial reaction to photographs was that the imprint
might indeed by a Diatryma track, but after studying
the specimen in Seattle he concluded that the
impression had been carved. The rock was shipped back
to New York for more study.

The controversy over the authenticity of the specimen
escalated during subsequent months, reaching a point
where Dr. Andor?s began to reply "no comment" when he
was asked about his opinions. Meanwhile, John Patterson
found support from Martin Lockley, a track expert at
the University of Colorado. Based on photos and a
resin cast, Dr. Lockley became convinced that the
impression was indeed a Diatryma track, and he
included a brief description in the 1995 book
_Dinosaur Tracks and Other Fossil Footprints of
the Western United States_, co-authored with
Adrian Hunt (Columbia University Press).

In 2004, Patterson and Lockely published a paper
titled "A probable Diatryma track from the Eocene
of Washington: An intriguing case of controversy
and skepticism" in volume 11 of _Ichnos_, a research
journal devoted to trace fossils. They described
it as belonging to new form genus, Ornithoformipe.
In acknowledgement of its controversial history,
the Green River specimen was named as
Ornithoformipes controversus. The descriptions of
the new ichnogenus and ichnospecies were detailed
and carefully written, but at the time this research
was conducted the specimen was not available for
Dr. Lockley?s examination; the holotype specimen
thus has the unusual distinction of never having
been seen by the taxonomist who named it.

John Patterson had long wanted to obtain permission
to search for other possible track fossils at
Flaming Geyser State Park, and he eventually
enlisted the help of Western Washington University
paleontologist Thor Hansen, as well as State Parks
staff members. Two visits were made to the site.
Meanwhile, Washington State Parks requested return
of the specimen from the American Museum of Natural
History. Athough no new specimens were found, the
joint venture between Patterson, Hansen, and
State Parks personnel led to the agreement that
the original slab could be loaned for exhibit at
Western Washington University in Bellingham. This
decision was based on several considerations. The
alleged fossil would remain in the state where it
was found, and it would be put on public display.
Although professor Hansen and WWU geology research
technician George Mustoe both had some familiarity
with the specimen and its colorful history, neither
had taken a public stand as to its authenticity,
and Western Washington University thus constituted
neutral territory as a repository for the
controversial specimen. In the spring of 2004 the
slab was transported from a former WWII era morgue
at Fort Worden State Park at Port Townsend to the
WWU Geology Department, where it is on display on
the second floor of the Environmental Studies
Building. The building is open to visitors on
weekdays and Sunday from 8AM to 10PM, and from
8 AM to 5PM on Saturday. The Geology Department
displays also include a diverse variety of mineral
and fossil exhibits.