Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

invertebrate paleontology

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Bayet’s Bounty: The Invertebrates That Time Forgot

book about the baron de bayet collection
interior of book about baron de bayet collection

Albert Kollar, Collections Manager for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, is on a mission to re-examine the Bayet Collection, a collection of 130,000 invertebrate and vertebrate fossils brought to the Carnegie more than 100 years ago.  Albert is re-examining the invertebrate portion of the Bayet (pronounced “Bye-aye”), which as it turns out, is 99.9% of the collection.

The story starts with a last-minute trip that began on July 8, 1903 by Carnegie Director William Holland, who had received word of a world-class fossil collection that had been put up for sale in Europe by the Baron de Bayet, secretary to the cabinet of Leopold II of Belgium.  Holland immediately booked passage to Europe on the steamer “New York” to complete the deal.  At stake were 130,000 invertebrates, combined with a small number of vertebrate fossils (several on display in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition), sought by museums throughout Europe, Great Britain and the United States.  This collection became the largest addition to the department of paleontology at the Carnegie Institute, since the discovery of the dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii, at Sheep Creek, Wyoming in 1899.

Mr. Carnegie personally wrote a check for $25,000 for the project, a sum so large it exceeded the entire 1903 budget for all art and natural history acquisitions combined. Eventually, Mr. Holland negotiated a price of just under $21,000 with the Baron de Bayet for the entire collection. Another $2,300 was spent to pack, insure and transport everything back to Pittsburgh.  Twenty men and women worked for three weeks to meticulously wrap each fossil in cotton, batting, or straw and by September 1903, two hundred and fifty-nine crates arrived safely in Pittsburgh.  Storage of the crates was an issue, since the Carnegie Museum building would not be completed until 1907; so Mr. Holland rented space in a warehouse on 3rd Street in Pittsburgh for storage of 210 of the 259 crates.

This decision, however, almost destroyed the collection when a fire broke out on the upper floors of the 3rd Street warehouse.  On December 30, 1903, Mr. Holland wrote, “Yesterday brought with it a fire in which it appeared as if the Bayet collection, the acquisition of which we had so prided ourselves, was destined to go up in smoke.”  Fortunately, the Pittsburgh Fire Department contained the fire to the upper floors and the Bayet collection, stored on the lower floor, and meticulously wrapped and crated, survived with minimal damage. The crates returned to the Carnegie Institute to dry out.

In early 1904, William Holland hired Dr. Percy Raymond, a graduate of Yale University, to be the first curator of Invertebrate Paleontology.  His primary directive was to catalog and organize the Invertebrate portion of the Bayet collection. Today, over 100 years later, Albert Kollar with the help of Pitt Geology student E. Kevin Love, is undertaking a multi-year project to translate Percy Raymond’s beautifully hand-written catalogs and to migrate all 130,000 specimens into a new database.

Pictured below is (BH1) the very first Bayet specimen cataloged by Percy Raymond.  BH1 is an exquisite 510-million-year-old, CM 1828 Paradoxides spinosus, a 17.17 cm or 7” long trilobite from Skreje, Bohemia – or the Czech Republic of today.

trilobite fossil

Albert’s goal in revisiting the Bayet collection is to better understand the great history of the how, why and where of fossils collected in the late 19th century, especially in Europe the birthplace of paleontology and geology.  “This project will give us insight into why certain Bayet fossils were recovered from classic European fossil localities, many of which are designated stratotype (significant geologic time reference) regions.  These fossils and localities have been used to document the validity of evolution, extinction, and the Geologic Time Scale over the last 100 years.  With an improved database, we hope to better appreciate the scientific value of the entire collection and create new statistical measures for future research and education.”

When asked if he expected any surprises as we go forward, Albert smiled, “Not until all the data has been analyzed will we have an opportunity to review the collection’s full scientific worth.”

Check back in a few months, Bayet’s invertebrates may have a few secrets yet to share.

Many thanks to Carnegie Museum Library Manager, Xianghua Sun for help researching this post.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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Benedum Hall of Geology –  A Teaching Laboratory for the Carnegie Interpreters

The new class of Education Interpreters of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are training for their new positions through classroom instruction and practicing their presentations on the exhibit floors. The new name of Interpreters supersedes the language of Docents that previously described educators leading museum tours.  The Interpreters are enthusiastic, eager to learn, and rely on their diverse backgrounds and experiences to find their comfort zone about natural history sciences. Their training is being coordinated by Patty Dineen and Joann L. Wilson of CMNH Education.

As the museum’s geologist and invertebrate paleontologist, I’ve been asked to help train the Interpreters on geologic time, and to expound upon some of the new science recently published on the fossils and exhibits on display in Benedum Hall of Geology.  Most Interpreters have little or no working knowledge about geology and paleontology. This is not unusual in the least, as many of our patrons are not schooled in the geologic sciences. That’s unfortunate, because the scientific principles of geologic time, evolution, extinction, climate change, and biodiversity, are featured throughout the dioramas as noted in Benedum Hall of Geology, Dinosaurs in Their Time, Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era and Ice Age – The Pleistocene.

group of interpreters in from of dinosaur display

Andrew Carnegie’s interest in geology, paleontology and minerals is well documented. He instructed the Carnegie architects Alden & Harlow to design museum galleries to showcase the museum’s growing collections in invertebrate fossils, Vertebrate Paleontology (dinosaurs), and Minerals for his museum that opened in 1907. Some eighty years later, Alden & Harlow’s gallery opened as Benedum Hall of Geology and was recognized as the premier public exhibition to celebrate the geologic history of the state of Pennsylvania (Dawson 1988 and Harper & Dawson 1992). Even though the hall’s dioramas are more than 30 years old, most of the science concepts are relatively unchanged.

Over the last several years, publications and geology guides by section staff, research associates, and volunteers present new science on some of the hall’s content. For example, Brezinski & Kollar 2011 determined from years of field work in the central Appalachian Basin, the relationship of Pennsylvanian Age climate change events and congruent biotic responses, i.e., the evolution and extinction of the short lived Fedexiaamphibian. The fossil climate events as cited in the publication can be inferred through the content in the Pennsylvanian Coal Forest, Pennsylvanian Marine Life, and local stratigraphy dioramas – and as an extension to the modern anthropogenic climate events.

Two famous fossils discovered from western Pennsylvania, the giant eurypterid trackway from Elk County, PA (Brezinski & Kollar 2016 & Harper, Kollar & Hughes in press) and Fedexia striegeli, an amphibian skull from Moon Twp. (Berman, Henrici, Brezinski, Kollar 2010) are exciting new fossils to look at.  There are several unpublished education manuscripts that address other content in the hall: What Do Fossils Tell Us– brachiopod evolution and extinction (Kollar, Carter (deceased) & Hughes), Strata Wall (Kollar), and What’s A Fossil Fuel (Kollar).

In their instruction with me, the Interpreters receive printed handouts summarizing the published citations and section geology guides relevant to the hall’s dioramas.  The PAlS guides are, Geology of the Marcellus Shale 2011 (Strata Wall), History and Geology of Pennsylvania Petroleum 2012 (Stratavator), Geology of Pennsylvania’s Coal 2014 (Fossil Fuel), and The Geological Evolution of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers (Where has the Water Gone).  The Interpreters are the museum’s ambassadors to the public, our advocates of Carnegie science, collections, and exhibitions. Welcome.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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A Unique Collection of Fossil Lagerstätten from the Devonian of Germany

By Will Vincett

As a research volunteer in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, I am interested in learning about the evolution of life and the diversity of the fossil record. Invertebrate Paleontology collections are very thorough and document a wide range of taxa over the last 600 million years of geologic time. My assignment is to investigate the famous Hunsrück Slate fossil collection from Bundenbach, a village in the Rhine valley of southwestern Germany.

The Hunsrück Slate of Germany is a 390 million-year-old metamorphosed black shale from the early Devonian Period known for its exceptional fossil preservation called Lagerstätten. A Lagerstätten is a fossil unit where fossils are preserved remarkably well. The Hunsrück Slate is the same age as the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.  Roman structures used slate as a roof material, but it is unknown if Romans used the Hunsrück Slate specifically.  The earliest evidence of Hunsrück Slate mining is from the year 1300 CE, but during the 18th­-20thcenturies the mining of the Hunsrück Slate became a successful business. The slate was used for domestic roofing and for export to other European countries. Most German quarries are now closed due to economic reasons, as cheaper slate mines from Portugal and Spain, as well as alternative synthetic roofing products, are available.

starfish fossil
Starfish fossil from the Hunsrück Slate of Germany. Photo credit: Dwergenpaartje [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Geologically, the Hunsrück Slate sediments were sourced from an eroding Devonian age landmass called the Old Red Sandstone Continent centered in Great Britain and northwestern Europe. These sediments were carried by rivers into a relatively shallow ocean called the Lizard-Giessen-Harz/Rheno-Hercynian Ocean.  Not all fossil found in the Hunsrück Slate are complete specimens-in fact most are broken fossil pieces.  One theory for the great preservation of certain Hunsrück Slate fossils is that underwater landslides caused great sediment plumes that quickly buried the organisms.  Only some of the animals that lived in the ocean were buried, likely the ones that were stationary or couldn’t free themselves before they died.

The Hunsrück fossils are especially significant because they preserve some of the soft parts of the organisms as well as the hard parts giving paleontologists a window into the animal’s body architecture.  The micro-bacteria that lived within the seawater would digest the calcium carbonate in the absence of oxygen, converting the shell into pyrite, or FeS2.  This left a golden color of bright yellow like ‘fool’s gold’ that stands out against the black color of the slate.

There are thirty-six Hunsrück invertebrates in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collection that are assigned to eleven echinoderm genera, Furcaster, Eospondylus, Ophiurina, Loriolaster, Euzonosoma, Taeniaster, Meduaster, Urasterella, Helianthaster, Palaeosolaster, and Encrinaster, and five crinoid genera, Poteriocrinites, Imitatocrinus, Calycanthocrinus, Codiacrinus, and Parisangulocrinus.  In addition, there are two corals specimens assigned to the genus ‘Zaphrentis.’

Will Vincett is a Research Volunteer in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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Trilobites in the Collection of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

by Albert Kollar

trilobite

Trilobites are members of an extinct group of marine animals that lived in the ancient seas of the Paleozoic Era (542 Ma to 251 Ma) a time span of 291 million years. In comparison, dinosaurs as a group lived no more than 186 million years. Trilobites belong to the phylum Arthropoda, animals whose body plan are segmented with jointed appendages. Arthropods include many living and fossil groups that may be familiar: horseshoe crabs, eurypterids, sea spiders, scorpions, spiders, ticks, mites, barnacles, ostracods, centipedes, and millipedes. The good eating arthropods are lobsters, crabs, and even insects are a delicacy in certain societies.

The Section of Invertebrate Paleontology has a fantastic collection of trilobites. The trilobite collections are organized among the Paleozoic rocks of western Europe (i.e., Czech Republic and France), Ontario, Canada, and the United States. The collection from the United States is a reflection in part of the history of the section’s trilobite research and field collecting over 115 years. Trilobite paleontologists who helped grow the collection are Brezinski, Raymond, Taylor, Loch, and Shaw (all last names). These scientists spent years  collecting from across the United States: Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, Montana, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as collecting n Canada. Based on the discoveries, they published 35 papers citing 67 new species and 7 new genera. All specimens are housed in the section’s type trilobite collection. Among the new trilobites published, one specimen stands out Ameropiltonia lauradanae (Brezinski), 2000. Collected by Dr. David K. Brezinski, Associate Curator adjunct in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology from the Chouteau rocks of north central Missouri. In 2004, Ameropiltonia lauradanae was selected as the section’s logo fossil.

Another logo fossil is the state fossil of Pennsylvania. Probably to most Pennsylvanians, it is surprising that somehow the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would set aside state business and politics to vote and designate a trilobite (pronounced TRI-lobe-ite), Phacops rana (Green), the official state fossil in 1988. We thank the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for their vote assisting Pennsylvania’s school children’s endeavors to learn about fossils.

Phacops rana is an index fossil for the Middle Devonian (382 million years ago to 393 million years ago) age rocks of the Devonian Period. An index fossil is a designation confirmed by geologists and paleontologists that indicate rocks to be of a certain geologic age. Phacops rana is found in the Devonian rocks of Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, Ohio, and Michigan. The section has many individual specimens of Phacops rana fossils including a few enrolled specimens and one rock slab with seven specimens.

Albert D. Kollar is collection manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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The Volunteers: Can’t Live Without Them

By Albert Kollar

What makes an ideal volunteer at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History? Maybe the question should be how does one find a volunteer? For the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, it was with luck and timing.  In 2002, I met Sam in Benedum Hall of Geology, who recently retired and was looking to learn about Pittsburgh geology and fossils. Sam with a Ph.D. in metallurgy had minored in geology in college in London. To train a volunteer without a background in fossils requires time and patience. With Sam it was easy, as he already was familiar with the scientific method. More luck and timing followed when two retired engineers Earl and Rich joined us. Our quartet was complete when Vicky arrived soon after.  By then, we recognized what type of volunteer will work for us going forward.

When the section formed the PAlS Program in 2004 we gained many more volunteers over the years.  PAlS (Patrons and lauradanae Supporters) is a section geology program that offered lectures on western Pennsylvania geology, fossil field trips, and in lab fossil workshops to the membership. We soon discovered that many PAlS members wanted to help in ways outside the museum.  We refer to these volunteers as the section’s ambassadors because they invest their time into promoting what the section and museum can offer to the region.  Some volunteers helped with financial support and collaborative projects with the Pittsburgh Geological Society, the Montour Trail Council, and the Allegheny County Parks – North Park.

volunteers

From 2002 to 2018 the thirty-three volunteers contributed much to the section and museum.  First and foremost is their dedication to assisting with the curation of the section’s fossil groups. These include fossil corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, mollusks, ammonites, echinoderms, and gastropods. Some volunteers published peer reviewed papers based on the section’s fossils. Other worked with the section staff to publish 21 PAlS Geology Guides.  The former section curator John L. Carter and his wife Ruth provided financial support for field work and to publish the PAlS Guide No. 8, Geology and Fossils of the Tri-State Region Coloring Book Guide for school groups.

The professional backgrounds of the volunteers create knowledge that the section can use in its mission. For instance, the twenty-seven adults’ working careers varied from paleontologists and geologists, to medical doctors and a dentist, earth science teachers, teachers, museum docents, architecture historian, an author, an accountant, and a pharmacist assistant. Several of our volunteers were former graduate students with me (Dave, John, Henry and Roman) in the Department of Geology of the University of Pittsburgh. We are often referred to as Bud’s Men, in honor of the late Professor of Paleontology H.B. Rollins who was a volunteer as well.

We have had four college age volunteers who majored in geology. I am happy to report they found employment in the sciences or their chosen fields. Two high school volunteers who received their early start in fossils are doing very well. One is employed as a consultant in the health industry. The other is attending undergraduate college in Massachusetts. During the summer, she is a part-time research assistant in the section helping with our research projects.

As a final tribute here is the list of names: Bob, Bud (deceased), Chrissy, Dakota, Dan, Dave and Lauradanae, Earl, Ed, John, John and Ruth (both deceased), Harlan, Henry, Irina, J.J., Karen, Kay, Kendall, Laurie, Matt, Pam, Peter, Ray, Rich, Roman, Sam (deceased), Tamara, Tara, Thad, Valerie, Vicky, and Will. Thank you volunteers. Albert D. Kollar Section of Invertebrate Paleontology.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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The Hidden Fossil Treasures of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

By Albert D. Kollar

When people hear the name Invertebrate Paleontology often times they are confused what it means. Invertebrates are animals without backbones such as trilobites, lobsters, clams, snails, corals, sea urchins, and brachiopods to name a few. The term paleontology refers to fossilized animals that once lived in the geologic past. The evidence of this event is preserved in earth’s sedimentary rocks. Invertebrate fossils are found in limestones, sandstones, and shales that formed in ancient oceans, lakes and rivers during times of environmental and climate change.

Close to a million invertebrate fossil specimens are housed in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology cabinets stored in the museum’s basement. To build a collection of 800,000 plus fossils, it takes more than a century of field collecting by section staff, exchanges with other museums from around the world, donations from our research associates and regional universities. Under special circumstances, donations are received from the general public if the fossils and the localities can be verified scientifically.

Eurypterid trackway.
Eurypterid trackway

The section’s collection strengths are based on the paleontologically, stratigraphic, and geologic interest of the section’s scientists and colleagues who work on the various invertebrate groups. The section historical strengths are in the fossil groups of trilobites, brachiopods, crustaceans’ snails, cephalopods, and the eurypterid trackway. Sometimes special fossils from the collections are placed on the museum’s exhibit floor in Benedum Hall of Geology and Dinosaurs in Their Time. For instance, one of the great regional fossils is the giant eurypterid trackway on display in Benedum Hall of Geology. The fossil track was discovered by museum scientists in 1948 in Elk County, Pennsylvania. The fossil was later named Palmichnium kosinskiorum in honor of the discoverer, James Kosinski. An in-depth geology review of the fossil site was published in the Carnegie Annals in 2016 by section staff Albert Kollar and David Brezinski.  Other Pittsburgh area fossils from the collection can be found in the Pennsylvanian Marine Diorama in Benedum Hall of Geology.

In future blogs, the section will be talking about the history of research, collection expeditions, fossils on display, the importance of volunteers in the sections and many more topics. Stay tuned.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.