Gyaltsenglossus senis, is a newly described hemichordate from the Burgess Shale. It provides evidence on how the anatomies of the two main groups of hemichordates – enteropneusta and pterobranchia – are related. The enteropneusta and pterobranchia differ in body shape and in ecological function. However, DNA analysis of present day organisms suggests that they are […]
A 506 million year old hemichordate worm with tentacles Read More »
A mine. In a National Park. Inside a mountain. Not what you would expect but for over sixty years, zinc and lead where mined from within Mount Stephen and Mount Field in Yoho National Park. These mines were the only successful metal mines in the Canadian Rockies. Railway construction workers chanced upon lead-zinc ore in the
The above Cambrian map is from Dr. C. Scotese’s Paleomap project. Note that Laurentia is the Paleo-Continent of North America. In other words, Laurentia is an early version of North America. The outline of present day North America is in white. It may be a little bit hard to recognize because the continent is turned
Would You Rather Live in the Cambrian Than Present-Day? Read More »
In 1984, UNESCO included the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (CRMPs) on its World Heritage List. This property consists of the following national parks: Yoho, Banff, Kootenay, and Jasper. As well as, the following provincial parks Mt. Robson, Hamber, and Mt. Assiniboine. The site encompasses a contiguous area that is 2,299,104 hectares in size. For a property
World Heritage Status and the Protection of Burgess Shale Fossils Read More »
Yoho National Park was established In 1886, as Canada’s second national park. This occurred only twenty eight years after the first European, James Hector, laid eyes on the area. The tiny Yoho National Park encompassed only 26 square kilometres at the base of Mount Stephen. The park was subsequently expanded four more times before the
The History of Yoho National Park and the Discovery of the Burgess Shale Read More »
In 2011, Emily Taylor, a hiker on one of our tours discovered a rare fossil of an organism now described as Ovatiovermis cribratus. There are only two known specimens of Oviatiovermis making it one of the rarest of the Burgess Shale species. Every year our clients find fossil at the Walcott Quarry and Mount Stephen Trilobite
Until recently, paleontologist have had difficulty deciding where the Habeliida taxa belonged on the tree of life. A recent re-description of the arthropod habelia optata places the Habeliida next to the Chelicerata. Horseshoe crabs, sea spiders, scorpions and spiders are all Chelicerates. Tree of life showing the relationship between Arthropods (Cedric Aria) For more information about the re-description of Habelia optata consult the
Habelia optata – The Cambrian arthropod with a ‘Jacknife’ head Read More »