Paleontology in Nebraska

state of Nebraska

Paleontology in Nebraska refers to

state fossils

.

Prehistory

No Precambrian fossils are known from Nebraska, and the state's fossil record begins in the Paleozoic. From the Cambrian through the Devonian, Nebraska was covered by a shallow sea. None of the rocks deposited in this environment are exposed at the surface, so its fossil record is poorly known. Nevertheless, the fossil record of nearby states suggests that Nebraska was probably home to brachiopods, corals, and trilobites.^[2] During the Carboniferous, the sea retreated westward and was replaced by large swamps growing in river deltas.^[2] During the Carboniferous Period, local invertebrates included cephalopods, coral, crinoids and fusulinids. On land, the local flora also left behind fossils.^[1]^: 192 During the Permian, most of Nebraska was a terrestrial environment, but both brackish and freshwater habitats were present. The latter were home to aquatic plants, amphibians, and fishes.^[2]

From the

Ammonites, fish, sea turtles, and plesiosaurs swam in these waters.^[2] The plesiosaurs could reach lengths of up to forty feet.^[1]^: 192 The Cretaceous sharks of Nebraska were very similar to their contemporaries in neighboring Kansas.^[5] On land, flowering plants were becoming abundant and the state's coastal plains were home to dinosaurs.^[2]

The Western Interior Seaway was gone from Nebraska by the early portion of the

volcanic activity in the Rocky Mountains covered regions of the state in ash.^[2] Rhinoceroses first appeared in Nebraska during the Eocene epoch. They would continue to thrive on the plains for the next 35 million years. In fact, more Tertiary-aged rhinoceros remains have been found in Nebraska than any other state.^[1]

^: 189

Rhinoceroses remained and were a prominent member of

footprints that would later fossilize in the sediments of the Arikaree beds. This is one of only seven known Oligocene fossil tracksites in the western United States.^[6] About 25 million years ago a stream ran roughly parallel to the modern course of the Niobrara River.^[1]

^: 187

During the

perissodactyl Moropus, rhinos, and tapirs.^[1]^: 187 Later in the Miocene, Nebraska was home to the rhino Teleoceras.^[1]

^: 189

During the middle

extinct during a major extinction episode late in the Pliocene.^[1]

^: 189

During the ensuing

saber-toothed cats, and tapirs. The largest Nebraskan Arctodus specimens have come from Sheridan and Cass Counties. Mastdon and mammoth fossils have been found in all 93 counties of Nebraska.^[1]^: 189 Woolly mammoth remains were preserved most abundantly in the western half of the state in areas like Dawes and Sioux Counties.^[1]

^: 190

Post-

humans.^[1]

^{: 190–191}

History

Indigenous interpretations

Local indigenous people devised legends to explain the fossils they encountered. The

folklorist Adrienne Mayor, these supposed arrowheads were likely fossil belemnites, which were compared to missiles by other indigenous American cultures, like the Zuni people.^[7]

^{: 209–210}

The fossils of the Niobrara chalk may have been influential on these stories. The

Niobrara Chalk deposits and associated remains may have been interpreted as evidence for antagonism between immense flying animals and serpentine aquatic reptiles. Fossils of the large toothed diving bird Hesperornis are also found in the Niobrara chalk, sometimes preserves inside specimens of large predatory marine reptiles. Observations of similar fossils in the past may have been seen as further evidence for thunderbird-water monster conflict.^[7]

^: 211

The Cheyenne believe that there were many different kinds of water monsters that lived not only in lakes, rivers, and springs but also high bluffs and hills. The locations given as water monster habitat are similar to the locations where local marine fossils can be found as fossils often erode out of hillsides or stream banks. The Cheyennes feared the water monsters, because they could be dangerous predators or capsize their canoes. Even in modern times, tradition-minded Cheyenne sometimes take pains to avoid sleeping to close to springs due to fears of water monsters.^[7]^: 211

Scientific research

The

University of Nebraska began its fieldwork in the western half of the state.^[1]

^{: 187–188}

Only a few miles away from the Agate Springs deposits,

archaeological relics of seven different locations before they were submerged by the reservoir created by the dam. By 1949, the dam was completed and several fossil sites lost.^[1]

^{: 190–191}

In 1961, the University of Nebraska opened the Trailside Museum of Natural History at

Fort Robinson State Park, which was converted from the Post Theater. The museum houses many fossils and its creation has been regarded as one of the University of Nebraska's most significant contributions to local paleontology.^[1]^: 186 Two years later, in 1963, the University of Nebraska reopened its Mastodon Quarry at Red Cloud in the southern part of the state, and important finds were made during the ensuing field work.^[1]^{: 191–192} One was a relatively complete skeleton of a relative of the mastodon, but bearing four tusks. The skeleton was mounted and turned into a museum exhibit.^[1]^: 192 On May 24, 1965, the Agate Fossil Beds became a national monument. The land was owned by Harold J. Cook, son of the James H. Cook who discovered them. Cook donated the land for the monument.^[1]

^{: 190–191}

Protected areas

Natural history museums

Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Hastings, Nebraska

Trailside Museum of Natural History at
Fort Robinson State Park, Crawford, Nebraska

University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Murray (1974); "Nebraska".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Springer (2005); "Paleontology and geology".
^ Witzke (2001); page 4.
^ Everhart (2005); "One Day in the Life of a Mosasaur", page 5.
^ Everhart (2005); "Other Times, Other Sharks", page 69.
^ Lockley and Hunt (1999); "The Puzzle of Miocene Tracks in the Oligocene", page 260.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mayor (2005); "Cheyenne Fossil Knowledge".
^ Lockley and Hunt (1999); "The Age of Birds and Mammals: The Cenozoic Era", page 243.

References

Everhart, M. J. 2005. Oceans of Kansas - A Natural History of the Western Interior Sea. Indiana University Press, 320 pp.
Lockley, Martin and Hunt, Adrian. Dinosaur Tracks of Western North America. Columbia University Press. 1999.
Mayor, Adrienne. Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton University Press. 2005.
ISBN 0-691-11345-9
.

Murray, Marian (1974). Hunting for Fossils: A Guide to Finding and Collecting Fossils in All 50 States. Collier Books. p. 348.
ISBN 9780020935506
.

Springer, Dale. July 6, 2005. "Nebraska, US." The Paleontology Portal. Accessed September 21, 2012.
Witzke, Brian J. The Age of Dinosaurs in Iowa. Iowa Geology. Number 26. 2001. Pages 2–7.

External links

[50states-nebraska-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Murray (1974); "Nebraska".

[nebraska-paleoportal-general-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Springer (2005); "Paleontology and geology".

[witzke-dinosaurs-4-3] Witzke (2001); page 4.

[oceans-oneday-5-4] Everhart (2005); "One Day in the Life of a Mosasaur", page 5.

[oceans-othersharks-69-5] Everhart (2005); "Other Times, Other Sharks", page 69.

[dinotracksna-oligocene-260-6] Lockley and Hunt (1999); "The Puzzle of Miocene Tracks in the Oligocene", page 260.

[mayor-cheyenne-7] Mayor (2005); "Cheyenne Fossil Knowledge".

[dinotracksna-birdsmammals-243-8] Lockley and Hunt (1999); "The Age of Birds and Mammals: The Cenozoic Era", page 243.

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