Dino-mite: N.C. museum gets fossils of dinosaurs that apparently died fighting

Apparently locked in battle on the plains of modern-day Montana, about 66 million years after two dinosaurs died, an unusual fight over who owns the entangled fossils has become a multimillion-dollar issue that depends on the legal definition of “mineral.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the “Dueling Dinosaurs” located on private land are minerals both scientifically and under mineral rights laws.

The fossils belong both to the owners of the property where they were found and two brothers who kept two-thirds of the mineral rights to the land once owned by their father, a three-judge panel said in a split decision.

Eric Edward Nord, an attorney for the property owners, said the case is complex in dealing with who owns what’s on top of land vs. the minerals that make it up and addresses a unique question of mineral rights law related to dinosaur fossils that no court in the country has taken up before.

His clients own part of a ranch in the Hell Creek Formation of eastern Montana that’s rich with prehistoric fossils, including the Dueling Dinosaurs whose value had been appraised at $7 million to $9 million.

Lige and Mary Ann Murray bought it from George Severson, who also transferred part of his interest in the ranch to his sons, Jerry and Robert Severson. In 2005, the brothers sold their surface rights to the Murrays, but retained the mineral rights, court documents said.

At the time, neither side suspected valuable dinosaur fossils were buried on the ranch, court records said. A few months later, amateur palaeontologist Clayton Phipps discovered the carnivore and herbivore apparently locked in battle. Imprints of the dinosaurs’ skin were also in the sediment.

A dispute arose in 2008 when the Seversons learned about the fossils — a 22-foot-long (7-meter-long) theropod and a 28-foot-long (9-meter-long) ceratopsian.

The Murrays sought a court order saying they owned the Dueling Dinosaurs, while the Seversons asked a judge to find that fossils are part of the property’s mineral estate and that they were entitled to partial ownership.

It had wider implications because the ranch is in an area that has numerous prehistoric creatures preserved in layers of clay and sandstone. Palaeontologists have unearthed thousands of specimens now housed in museums and used for research.

But fossils discovered on private land can be privately owned, frustrating palaeontologists who say valuable scientific information is being lost.

During the court case, the Dueling Dinosaurs were put up for auction in New York in November 2013. Bidding topped out at $5.5 million, less than the reserve price of $6 million.

A nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex found on the property was sold to a Dutch museum for several million dollars in 2014, with the proceeds being held in escrow pending the outcome of the court case.

Other fossils found on the ranch also have been sold, including a triceratops skull that brought in more than $200,000, court records said.

The 9th Circuit decision on Nov. 6 overturned a federal judge’s 2016 opinion that fossils were not included in the ordinary definition of “mineral” because not all fossils with the same mineral composition are considered valuable.

“The composition of minerals found in the fossils does not make them valuable or worthless,” U.S. District Judge Susan Watters of Billings wrote. “Instead, the value turns on characteristics other than mineral composition, such as the completeness of the specimen, the species of dinosaur and how well it is preserved.”

The Severson’s had appealed, arguing previous court cases determined that naturally occurring materials that have some special value meet the definition of minerals.

Attorneys for the Murrays asked the 9th Circuit this week for an extension of a Nov. 21 deadline to petition the judges to reconsider or for a hearing before an 11-judge panel.

Historic Well Discovered Under Mysterious Sinkhole In Boston’s Ronan Park

Over the weekend, a mysterious sinkhole was found in Ronan Park by a local, and Archeologist Joe Bagley of the City of Boston announced on Thursday that the sinkhole actually leads to a historical well from the 1800s.

According to Bagley, this was discovered by lowering an iPhone with LED lights into the hole with a rope.

“The way the well is positioned in the ground, it is currently under about 10 feet of fill that is brought to the site to create Ronan Park in 1912,” said Bagley.

“The top of the well is located 10 feet below that and the well is about 6.5 feet deep. That makes the total opening in the park about 16.5 half feet deep. The well is about 2.5 feet wide.”

Bagley also said the reason sinkhole formed was due to the recent rain that loosened up the soil in the ground.

He went on to explain the interesting history behind the well and how it became a part of the land.

According to Bagley, a pastor for the nearby First Church in Dorchester purchased the property in the 1790s and built a mansion on the northern end of the park.

The land where the well ended up being located remained underdeveloped until it was purchased in 1818 by John F. Pierce, a cabinet and piano maker. He built a 10-acre property and lived nearby.

His estate was broken up on September 22, 1871, and a widow by the name of Mary L. Pierce, who Bagley said was possibly related to John F. Pierce, ended up getting the property.

Bagley says the well was either built-in 1818 by John F. Pierce and his estate or by Mary L. Pierce between 1871 or 1872.

“It’s either or at this point,” said Bagley. “The well would have likely been abandoned in the 1870s to 1890s when this area received running water for the first time from Boston Water and Sewer.

At that point, Mary passed away and the property transferred to another person by the name of Hannah Bliss, who then sold the property to the city of Boston to turn it into Ronan Park.”

The resident who found the sinkhole over the weekend called 311, so Boston Fire and Police responded.

Ryan Woods, the Commissioner of Boston’s Parks and Recreation, says the sinkhole is being examined to make sure all the drainage is intact before it is filled again.

“It should be filled back within the next two weeks. So by the end of this month, it should be back to normal, completely reseeded and completely filled,” said Woods.

As of Thursday, the hole had been blocked off with barricades, police tape and a fence.

Meet “Stuckie” — The Mummified Dog Who Has Been Stuck In A Tree For Over 50 Years

Loggers expect to come across some things when they cut down trees. Bird’s nests and things stuck in the branches seem like a given – a mummified dog in the center of a tree, however, does not.

But that’s exactly what a team of loggers with the Georgia Kraft Corp. found while cutting down a tree in the 1980s.

The loggers were working on a grove of chestnut oaks in southern Georgia when they found a most unusual sight.

After cutting off the top of the tree, and loading it onto a truck for transport, a member of the team happened to peer down the hollow trunk.

Inside, he found the perfectly mummified remains of a dog, looking back at him, its teeth still bared in a fight for survival.

Experts who studied the carcass concluded that the pup was most likely a hunting dog from the 1960s, who had chased something such as a squirrel through a hole in the roots, and up the center of the hollow tree.

The higher the dog got, however, the narrower the tree became. From the position of the dog’s paws, experts believe that it continued to climb until it effectively wedged itself in. Unable to turn around, the dog died.

Due to a perfect set of circumstances, however, though it was dead, it was not forgotten.

Normally, a dog that had died in the wild would succumb to decay and be eaten by other foragers.

However, as the dog had died inside a tree, it was unlikely that other animals could reach it – and, due to the height of the body, it was unlikely that other animals could smell it either.

Additionally, the kind of tree that the dog had lodged itself in was uniquely qualified to lend itself to the natural mummification process.

Chestnut oaks contain tannins, which are used in taxidermy and tanning to treat animal pelts so that they don’t decay. The tannins from the inside of the tree seeped out into the dog and prevented it from rotting inside.

The dry environment inside the trunk also provided shelter from the elements and sucked the moisture from the carcass. The air that was sucked into the tree through the base created a sort of vacuum effect, further contributing to the drying process.

After finding the mummified pup, the loggers decided to take it to a museum, to show off the rare sight to the world.

The dog, now affectionately called “Stuckie,” resides at the Southern Forest World museum, still encased in his woody tomb, and on display for the world to see.

The largest gold nugget ever found is named the Alaska Centennial Nugget

The largest gold nugget ever found in Alaska is named the Alaska Centennial Nugget. It weighs a whopping 9.1475325 kilograms and was found near the town of Ruby, Alaska in 1998.

Barry Clay was placer mining an area along Swift Creek that was known for producing large nuggets. He was pushing dirt with his bulldozer when something unusual caught his eye.

He jumped out of the dozer and picked up the object. He immediately knew by the weight that he had unearthed a huge gold nugget. He immediately buried the nugget under a nearby tree until he could figure out what to do with it.

When he finally took it into town for further examination, it was determined that he had found the largest nugget ever found in Alaska, and the second-largest nugget ever found in the Western Hemisphere behind the Boot of Cortez nugget found in Mexico.

It was named the Centennial nugget because it was found on the 100th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush, which brought thousands of men north to Alaska in search of gold.

Its discovery in 1998 shows that there are without a doubt lots of huge gold nuggets left to be discovered. They haven’t all been discovered, not by a long shot!

With the record high gold prices in recent years and the renewed interest in gold mining, there is a very good chance that more big gold nuggets will be found in the very near future.

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Many other large nuggets have been found in the Ruby Mining District as well, including numerous nuggets that weighed over a pound.

Alaska has by far the most commercial mining operations compared to other states, mainly due to its miner friendly regulations comparison to other states.

Alaska has a reputation for large nuggets as well. Overall gold produced here is not as high as other states like California and Nevada, but if you want to find a huge gold nugget in the United States, Alaska is the best place to look.

Petrified Forest National Park: Ancient and Spectacular

We’re going to the southwestern state of Arizona on our National Parks trip this week. We’ll find a strange and vivid landscape there. The hilly soil is covered by black, red, and sometimes purple rocks and sand. In odd forms, massive bits of ancient trees curl.

The area is the only national park that includes a part of the historic U.S. Route 66.

Welcome to the Petrified Forest National Park!

The word “forest” may mislead visitors. The park is in a desert. And the word “petrified” — which can mean “afraid”– may scare visitors away!

But fear not. “Petrified Forest” gets its name from the trees that have, over millions of years, turned to stone. That natural process is called fossilization.

Much of the Petrified Forest formed from tall trees called conifers. They grew over 200 million years ago near waterways. During floods, water forced the trees to be pulled up from the ground. Over time, the wood from the trees became petrified. The Petrified Forest National Park is one of the wonders of Arizona. It sits within the Painted Desert.

A Spanish explorer in the 1500s gave the place its name. It is easy to see why. The desert looks like an artist’s canvas. Brilliantly coloured mudstones and clays cover the land as far as the eye can see. They contain bentonite, a clay that is the product of changed volcanic ash.

The oldest geological formations in the park are about 227 million years old. Differently coloured formations show different time periods. The Blue Mesa formations, for example, have thick bands of grey, purple, blue and green mudstones. They are about 220 million years old.

Ancient history

Evidence of humans in the Petrified Forest dates back 13,000 years.

People first came here after the last Ice Age. Early Paleoindian groups used petrified wood to create different kinds of stone tools. They used them to hunt large animals. The climate warmed over several thousand years. Humans began building villages here and growing food, such as corn, squash and beans.

In the 900s, people in the area began building above-ground houses, called pueblos. They also made pottery for cooking and other uses. Scientists today find evidence of early pottery and pueblo homes all over Petrified Forest National Park. A long and severe drought in the early 1400s forced most of the people living here to move. But new groups soon arrived.

European explorers came in the 1500s. By the 1800s, American pioneers began settling in the area. And, by the 1920s, American motorists were travelling on U.S. Route 66. The road winds through the heart of the Painted Desert.

Long before humans entered the area, though, dinosaurs dominated. Petrified Forest National Park is a world-class area for fossil research. The fossil record at the park preserves some of the earliest dinosaurs. The dinosaur fossils are from the Late Triassic period, called the “dawn of the dinosaurs.” They help scientists reconstruct ancient environments.

Creating a National Park

The land here was set aside as a national monument in 1906. Congress moved to protect it because of its unique ecosystem, a record of human history and dramatic southwestern scenery. It became a national park in 1962.

More than 800,000 people visit the Petrified Forest National Park each year. The best way to explore the park is by foot. The National Park Service maintains many kilometres of walking trails.

The Crystal Forest trail is a one-kilometre path. It is named for the crystals that can be seen on the pieces of petrified wood. The trail is one of the best chances to see this fossilized wood up close.

The Petrified Forest includes many shapes and sizes of wood, from large logs to stumps to the smallest remains of plants. Most of the petrified wood found in the park is made up of quartz. Quartz is a hard, colourless mineral. The wood sometimes shines in the sunlight as if covered by glitter.

The Painted Desert Rim trail offers visitors a good chance to see the park’s wildlife. Lizards and rabbits are common. So are snakes and foxes.

Early morning or evening are the best times to see animals. These are also the times when the sun makes the Painted Desert the most colourful and spectacular.

Oldest DNA in America traced back in Montana Man

DNA tests are used for many things. They can prove if someone was involved in a crime and a paternity testing clinic can find out if a child really is their son or daughter by comparing their DNA. A growing trend with DNA testing is to trace back genetic ancestry and one man may have found he has the oldest DNA in America.

A new client has taken the status of the oldest traceable DNA in the Americas, according to one genetic company. A Great Falls Tribune article shows the DNA of Alvin ‘Willy’ Crawford traced back 55 generations with a shocking 99 percent accuracy, making his lineage the longest ever traced by CRI Genetics, the ancestry testing company.

The genetic tests, according to the study, traced Crawford’s DNA back a whopping 17,000 years.

The length and accuracy of Crawford’s lineage are so rare that the company told Crawford’s family that it was ‘like finding Big Foot.’

According to the report, Crawford died of a heart attack shortly before the results of CRI’s genetic testing had concluded, but was told that his ancestors had migrated across the Bering Land Bridge during an Ice Age.  

According to Crawford’s DNA, however, he belonged to the mtDNA Haplogroup B2 — a genetic subgroup — which is very common in southwestern America. 

Likely, Crawford’s ancestors traveled from Asia to South America and traveled north according to CRI.

Crawford’s DNA was 83 percent native American according to the report, with 73 percent of that coming from one tribe alone, the Blackfeet Nation.

As the ability to sequence and understand genomes has steadily advanced, so too has our understanding of the way species, including humans, have evolved.  

In 2010, a bit of luck led to the first fully sequenced genome of early humans.

Scientists were able to map the entire genome of an early ancient human after analyzing a 4,000-year-old hairball found frozen in Greenland soil — the piece of genetic history pales in comparison to other ancient human DNA which has been dated as far back as 430,000 years. 

Similarly, after studying the discovered DNA of a six-week-old Native American infant who died 11,500 years ago, researchers revealed last year that humans likely migrated across the Bering Strait land bridge into Alaska in one fell swoop as opposed to coming in waves like previously thought.

For individuals in Native American communities like that to which Crawford and his family belong, the impacts of genetic testing have had more personal ripple effects. 

Genetic testing is now used, to some controversy, to test people’s enrollment in tribes — if tests come back under certain percentages of a tribe’s DNA then they may not be allowed in. 

Arguments over Native American ancestry have even made the national stage, namely through a public spat between the presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and President Donald Trump over Warren’s alleged Native American background. 

To prove her claim, she resorted to genetic testing. 

A Representative from CRI Genetics did not respond to a request for comment before the time of publication.