Pitt student finds fossil of ancient amphibian
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Fedexia striegeli -
A reconstruction of Fedexia striegeli from Mark A. Klinger for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. -
Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology David S. Berman holds the fossil of a trematopid temnospondyl amphibian -- a new genus of carnivorous amphibian -- found on FedEx property at the Pittsburgh International Airport. He stands with Albert D. Kollar, Collection Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology, and Amy C. Henrici, Collection Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology. -
Skeletal reconstruction of Fedexia striegeli. The gray oval at the rear of the skull indicates the exquisitely preserved ear region. -
Views of the remarkably preserved Fedexia striegeli skull.
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During a geology field trip in 2004, the professor told his students that a road-cut featuring rock formations near Pittsburgh International Airport was a great place to find plant fossils.
Hearing that, Adam Striegel, then a University of Pittsburgh junior, plucked up a hand-sized rock at his feet that appeared to contain the fossil of a fern frond or leaf. But on the trek, the rock became too cumbersome while he scribbled notes, so he cast it aside.
Later, having second thoughts, he found the fossil once again to show his geology professor, Charles Jones.
It was a lucky course of events.
The fern? Actually, an ancient predator's jagged teeth. The rock? Actually, a fossilized skull.
And that's not even the best of it.
When he and Dr. Jones eventually showed the fossil to David S. Berman at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the noted paleontologist could barely believe his eyes.
He beheld the fossilized skull of a trematopid that looked a bit different from two other existing trematopid fossils. Further study convinced museum experts that the skull was a new genus and species of carnivorous amphibian that lived about 300 million years ago in Western Pennsylvania and was among the first to spend most of its time on land rather than in water.
On Monday Dr. Berman, the museum's curator of vertebrate paleontology and three museum colleagues -- Amy C. Henrici, vertebrate paleontology collection manager; David K. Brezinski, associate curator of invertebrate paleontology; and Albert D. Kollar, collection manager of invertebrate paleontology -- published their findings in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, which describe the newly discovered trematopid. The article includes evidence it represents one of the earliest examples of terrestrial vertebrate to adapt to warmer, drier climates of the Upper Pennsylvanian region, which was tropical at that time.
First Published March 16, 2010 12:00 am
