12/18/2024

Ep #81 Paleo Nerds at Nebraska's Prairie Pompeii

Ray takes a road trip with fellow Paleo Nerds to visit the great death assemblage, the "Rhino Pompeii", at the Nebraska Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park

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$Ash Poust and an incredible fossil of a Nimravus 'false saber tooth' cat that died with one of it's sabers stuck in a fellow cat's leg bone, immortalized in a poem called 'The Innocent Assassins' written by Loren Eiseley who was there when it was found in Nebraska. "This was no ordinary death, though forty million years lay between us and that most gaping snarl. Deep-driven to the root a fractured scapula hung on the mighty saber undetachedTwo beasts had died in mortal combat, for the bone had never been released; there was no chance this cat had ever used its fangs again or eaten— died there, in short, though others of its kind grew larger, larger, suddenly were gone" For the whole poem go to  https://www.eiseley.org/Resources/reader/teachers/pdf/innocent-assassins-learning-supplement-lesson-05.pdf$

Ep 81 Paleo Nerds at Nebraska's Prairie Pompeii

LINKS

Nebraska State Capitol with the amazing mosaics in its rotunda
The Nebraska State Capitol is famous for its mosaics, murals, and symbolism woven into its rotunda. These artworks celebrate Nebraska’s natural and cultural heritage, including deep time and fossil history.

Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park
Ashfall Fossil Beds preserve an entire Miocene ecosystem entombed by volcanic ash. Dozens of rhinoceroses, camels, and horses were caught in place, creating a fossil site dubbed Nebraska’s “Rhino Pompeii.”

Western Interior Seaway
The Western Interior Seaway split North America in two during the Cretaceous, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic. Its shallow waters were home to mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and giant clams.

Laramide Orogeny: The Rocky Mountains rise up
The Laramide Orogeny was a tectonic event that raised the Rocky Mountains about 70 million years ago. It reshaped the western U.S. and influenced the ecosystems that followed.

Nebraska had Glaciers!
Though known today for prairies, Nebraska was once covered by glaciers. These sheets sculpted the land, left behind deposits, and influenced the region’s ecosystems and soils.

Taphonomy: How a fossil becomes a fossil through the laws of burials
Taphonomy studies what happens to organisms after death, from decay to preservation. It explains why some creatures fossilize perfectly while others vanish without a trace.

Mike Voorhies, the founder of Ashfall Fossil Beds
Paleontologist Mike Voorhies discovered the Ashfall Fossil Beds, recognizing the extraordinary preservation of rhinos and other Miocene mammals entombed in volcanic ash.

The Yellowstone Super Volcano
Yellowstone sits atop a massive supervolcano. This article describes its past eruptions, the scale of its caldera, and what it tells us about Earth’s explosive power.

Teloceras, the Rhinos in the Rhino Pompeii
Teleoceras were short legged, hippo like rhinos that lived during the Miocene. At Ashfall Fossil Beds, dozens of them were preserved in life positions, creating a haunting fossil snapshot.

The Siberian Traps Volcanic ooze
The Siberian Traps are vast volcanic deposits that erupted around 252 million years ago. They released greenhouse gases that likely triggered “The Great Dying,” Earth’s largest mass extinction.

The West Indian Deccan Traps ooze
The Deccan Traps in India are massive volcanic flows tied to the end Cretaceous extinction. These eruptions coincided with the asteroid impact that doomed the dinosaurs.

The Longest of the long necks, the Elasmosaur of Nebraska
Elasmosaurs were long necked marine reptiles from the Cretaceous seas. Nebraska’s fossils reveal that even inland states were once underwater homes to these giants.

The Giant giant clam, the Inoceramus
Inoceramus were enormous bivalves that thrived in the Western Interior Seaway. Their shells could reach several feet across, serving as markers of ancient seafloors.

Bone Crushing Dog, the Borophagus
Borophagus, also called the bone crushing dog, was a powerful carnivore of the Pliocene. Its jaws were designed to crack open bones, much like modern hyenas.

Ontogeny: How you change as you get older
Ontogeny refers to the changes an organism undergoes as it grows from embryo to adult. Studying ontogeny in fossils helps paleontologists understand growth and development.

Oldest Known Primate might have come from North America
This article describes fossil evidence suggesting that some of the earliest primates lived in North America, expanding our understanding of primate origins.

An Aelurodon: Another Bone Crushing Dog
Aelurodon was another bone crushing dog of the Miocene, part of the same lineage as Borophagus. These predators were efficient hunters and scavengers.

Cynarctus, the Raccoon-sized Dog
Cynarctus was a small doglike carnivore about the size of a raccoon. It reveals the diversity of ancient canids that roamed North America.

Nimravids, cat-like carnivores you wouldn’t want to meet in person
Nimravids were saber toothed, cat like predators that predated true cats. Their long fangs and powerful builds made them formidable hunters.

The Pleistocene Epoch
The Pleistocene Epoch lasted from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. It was the age of ice ages, woolly mammoths, saber toothed cats, and early humans.

Skeletons at Herculaneum
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, it buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Archaeologists have found skeletons frozen in time by volcanic ash and mud.

MUSIC
Colugo by Ray Troll
Sleep on my Feet by Whiskey Class
Teach me to Dance by Patrick Troll
Ready to Grow by Whiskey Class
Seconds in a Lifetime by Russell Wodehouse