Maritimes - Summer 2008
July 5 - 25, 2008
Day 11 - July 15: Five Islands, Springhill, Joggins, & Parrsboro: Parrsboro
In Parrsboro we made a much needed stop to do laundry. Once we were all done we tackled the 3-part "Prosauropods A-Many" earthcache. Unfortunately we were a little late getting started so we didn't have much time to explore the first stop which was the Fundy Geological Museum but for that we were allowed to take a quick peak for free... the displays looked quite impressive. We then took a quick look at the Parrsboro rock shop of the famous fossil collector Eldon George. We didn't get to see Eldon himself but Sam had fun playing on the dinosaur statue outside the shop.
From the "Prosauropods a many" Earthcache:
"Triassic - Jurassic Extinctions; The Bay of Fundy is the only place where there are abundant bones and footprints from rocks of both ages.
In April 1984, Parrsboro fossil collector Eldon George uncovered some of the world's smallest dinosaur footprints. Link: http://www.parrsbororockandmineralmuseum.com/
The three-toed, half inch long footprints were made by a creature no bigger than a robin. Other trackways along the North Shore of the Minas Basin indicate that most Triassic-Jurassic age dinosaurs were turkey to ostrich size. According to Olsen, this adds to the growing body of evidence that some dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded like birds, without having to be large. However, there are also abundant 18-inch tracks belonging to the Otozoum, thought to be made by a long-legged relative of the crocodiles or by a plant eating Prosauropod. A number of these footprints can be seen at the Parrsboro Rock and Mineral Shop. With predators like this stalking the mudflats, only the fast runners risked venturing onto the exposed lakeshore.
Dawning of the Dinosaurs The dinosaurs of Nova Scotia are very important because they are rare examples of the animals that survived a major mass extinction event that occurred 200 million years ago. "This is the only place where you can see accurately dated, the change in the animal assemblage through that critical time when the dinosaurs began to rule the earth." Paul Olsen, 1984 The first dinosaurs appeared near the end of the Triassic period. During the Jurassic, which began roughly 200 million years ago, many new dinosaur types, from the huge sauropods to tiny bird-like predators, evolved. The Bay of Fundy is the only place where there are abundant bones and footprints from rocks of both ages. This has given paleontologists a rare opportunity to study the changes that occurred at a critical juncture in earth history known as the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.
The Prosauropod dinosaurs being studied at the museum are examples of animals that survived the mass extinction. Scientists at the Museum are trying to find out what permitted them to survive such a dramatically changing world. Nearly half of the Triassic creatures failed to survive this threshold of time. Some scientists believe that the extinctions or "great dyings" that have been repeated many times throughout geological history are related to catastrophic events, perhaps asteroids hurtling into the earth. The fossil evidence at Parrsboro strongly suggests a "catastrophic extinction" heralded the dawning of the dinosaurs' reign at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary."
Time to do some laundry!
Might as well have an ice cream break while we wait for our laundry.
And lets give Grandma a quick call.
Dinosaurs love little kids filled with ice cream!
In front of the Fundy Geological Museum.
Project prosauropod - you can watch as the lab technicians uncover the 200 million year old bones of a prosauropd dinosaur. This specimen was collected in july 2000 and is the most complete dinosaur specimen found in Nova Scotia.
This is the stem of a Calamites plant, a relative of the modern horsetail
(which we have lots of on our property at home!) preserved as a film of carbon.
Rubby, Christopher and Samantha with an example of a Prosauropod dinosaur.
Dendrerpeton - Resembling huge salamanders, these amphibians poplulated the late Carboniferous and early Permain Periods. Dendrerpeton occasionally captured small prey, but scavenged most meals. Extinct by the Jurassic Period (210mya), they are among the ancestors of today's frogs and toads. This case is from one of the finest specimens ever found. It was recovered from the Joggins strata.
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