Staff at the Royal Tyrrell Museum went fishing recently. Although, rather than the more traditional rods and lures, technicians grabbed shovels, pickaxes, and a crane to reel in a hitherto unknown species of fish.
Tyrrell staff collected a 1.5 metre wide, 50 centimetre tall, and 2,744 kilogram block of rock from the Paskapoo Formation, roughly 60 million years old and five million years after the dinosaurs went extinct. The block contains a previously unrecorded species of fish.
The fossils are exceptionally well-preserved and are all related to the modern alligator gar. Gars are fish with sharp teeth and armour-like scales found in waters from Manitoba to Quebec, and south to Central America and Cuba. They are predatory and feed on other fish, crayfish, and even birds.
Technicians, during the excavation, uncovered 17 complete fish skeletons. The largest specimen measures roughly 75 centimetres long, while the smallest is roughly 25 centimetres.
The find is the best example of an assemblage of gars from the Paskapoo Formation and the only grouping that preserves juvenile specimens.
The block was discovered in late February by a man out walking along the highway near Okotoks. He reported the find to the museum and technicians were sent to investigate. When removing the block, a lifting cable and crane was needed to lift the massive rock from the ground. From there it was hauled by truck to the Tyrrell Museum, where it is currently awaiting preparation and further study.
