DOUVELLICERAS SPINIFERUM

Douvelliceras spiniferum, Cretaceous Haida Formation

Haida Gwaii or the Queen Charlotte Islands lay at the western edge of the continental shelf due west of the central coast of British Columbia. They form Wrangellia, an exotic tectonostratigraphic terrane that includes Vancouver Island, parts western British Columbia and Alaska.

The Geological Survey of Canada sponsored many expeditions to these remote islands and has produced numerous reference papers on this magnificent terrain, exploring both the geology and paleontology of the area.

Joseph Whiteaves, the GSC 's chief palaeontologist in Ottawa, published a paper in 1876 describing the Jurassic and Cretaceous faunas of Skidegate Inlet, furthering his reputation globally as both a geologist and paleontologist.

The praise was well-earned and foreshadowed his significant contributions to come. Sixteen years later, he wrote up and published his observations on a strange Mount Stephen fossil that resembled a kind of headless shrimp with poorly preserved appendages. Because of the unusual pointed shape of the supposed ventral appendages and the position of the spines near the posterior of the animal, Whiteaves named it Anomalocaris canadensis. The genus name "Anomalocaris" meant "unlike other shrimps" and the species name "canadensis" referred to the country of origin.

Whiteaves work on the paleontology of the Queen Charlotte Island provided us with excellent reference tools, particularly his work on the Cretaceous exposures and fauna that can be found there.

One of our fossil field trips was to the ruggedly beautiful Cretaceous exposures of Lina Island. We’d planned this trip as part of our “trips of a lifetime.” Both John Fam and Dan Bowen can be congratulated for their efforts in researching the area and ably coordinating a warm welcome by the First Nations community and organizing fossil field trips to some of the most amazing fossil localities in the Pacific Northwest. With great sandstone beach exposures, the fossil-rich (Albian to Cenomanian) Haida formation provided ample specimens, some directly in the bedding planes and many in concretion. Many of the concretions contained multiple specimens of typical Haida Formation fauna, providing a window into this Cretaceous landscape.

It is always interesting to see who was making a living and co-existing in our ancient oceans at the time these fossils were laid down. We found multiple beautifully preserved specimens of the spiny ammonite, Douvelleiceras spiniferum along with Brewericeras hulenense, Cleoniceras perezianum and many cycads in concretion.

Pictured above is Douvilleiceras spiniferum with his naturally occurring black, shiny appearance. Danna Straaf had recently asked me what my favourite cephalopod is, and I have to say that it is a hard choice but this fellow is in the top three. He is 6 inches long and 5 inches deep, and a beautiful example of the species.

SQUID EMPIRE: DANNA STAAF

Caught up with the Awesome Danna Staaf, "Cephalopodiatrist," today. If you haven’t picked up a copy of the infinitely readable, “Squid Empire,” please do! It’s an epic adventure through our primordial oceans, delightfully showcasing the rise & fall of the cephalopods as they moved from being the ocean’s top predator to its most delicious snack.

You’ll love Danna’s engaging writing style. I’m not the only one who thinks it’s awesome. It was named one of the best science books of 2017 by NPR. She writes about science with a particular penchant for marine biology along with science fiction and fantasy. Sometimes for grown-ups and sometimes for kids. She also makes art, including technical illustrations, comic strips, calligraphy, and origami -- and gives fabulous talks!

Danna & I were colleagues of a sort years ago. We both wrote for Science 2.0 and waxed poetic about all things squidy, cephie and paleo. She's become a mother since then and was up at UBC giving a talk at the Beatty Museum in Vancouver with her hubby. She's back in Vancouver in April 2020 for a talk. Once I have details, I'll post them here. Enjoy!

Here's her deliciously geeky site: http://www.cephalopodiatrist.com/p/home.html

GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

Aptly named, Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States (and one of the loveliest) and the third largest in the world. The rich yellow, red, orange, green and blue coloring you see here is the result of microbial mats of bacteria and archaea.

While a whole host of thermophilic (heat-loving) microorganisms are responsible, it is the cyanobacteria, one of the more common fellows from this group, which form most of the scum. Cyanobacteria grow together in huge colonies (bacterial mats) that form the delightfully colourful slimes and scum on the perimeter of hot springs. You can tell a fair bit about the water temperature and chemistry just by looking at the colour of the pools. The coloring shifts dependant upon the ratio of carotenoids to chlorophyll and ambient temperature. We see more orange and red in the summer and the colder temperature of late Fall and Winter bring more green to the coloring.

SYMBIOTIC SLOTHS

Ever wonder why the slow moving sloth has a slightly greenish hue? Ever consider the sloth at all? Well, perhaps not. Location, location, location, is the mantra for many of us in our macro world, but it is also true for the small world of algae.

Blue-green algae are microscopic, plant-like organisms. The term is used to describe any of a large, heterogeneous group of prokaryotic, principally photosynthetic organisms. These little oxygenic (oxygen-producing) fellows appeared are given credit for greatly increasing the oxygen content of the atmosphere, making possible the development of aerobic (oxygen-using) organisms and some very special relationships with some of the slowest moving mammals on the planet, the sloths or Folivora.

The tribes of South America who live close to these insect and leaf-eaters, call these arboreal browsers "Ritto, Rit or Ridette, which roughly translates to variations on sleep, sleepy, munching and filthy. Not all that far off when you consider the sloth and their lifestyle.

The sloth's body and shaggy coat, or pelage, provides a comfy habitat to two types of wee blue-green algae along with various other invertebrates. The hairs that make up the sloth's coat are long and coarse with grooves that help foster algal growth. They soak up water readily and make for the perfect habitat for algae, moths, beetles fungi and even cockroaches.

And, while Kermit the Frog says, "it's not easy being green," it couldn't be further from the truth for this slow-moving tree dweller. The blue-green algae gives the sloth a natural greenish camouflage, an arrangement that is certainly win-win.