In February 2018 DIG Director Dr. Greg Wilson and Wilson Lab graduate student Alex Brannick journeyed to Ethiopia to partake in a geological and paleontological reconnaissance mission. See below for an exciting account of the trip by Alex!
Above: view from a backroad in northeastern Ethiopia
Although the primary research focus of the Wilson Lab is to understand how vertebrate, especially mammal, communities were affected by the K-Pg mass extinction event, Dr. Greg Wilson is also involved in research centered around understanding non-marine ecosystems of the early Mesozoic around the world. Greg has been a part of the Blue Nile Project—a project focused on the geology and vertebrate Mesozoic faunas of Ethiopia—since 2008 in collaboration with Dr. Mark Goodwin (University of California Museum of Paleontology), Dr. Randy Irmis (Natural History Museum of Utah and University of Utah), Dr. Balemwal Atnafu (Addis Ababa University), Dr. Mohamed Abdelsalam (Oklahoma State University), and Mr. Tadesse Berhanu (Addis Ababa University and Oklahoma State University).
Above: camels meandering around the field area
The Mesozoic (ca. 252–66 million years ago [Ma]) non-marine vertebrate fossil record of Africa is critical to our understanding of how terrestrial ecosystems responded to the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. This interval also coincides with the early diversification of many important vertebrate clades, including mammals, dinosaurs, lissamphibians, and squamates. Although the evolution of these clades occurred on a global scale, the fossil record in Africa and in most of what are now the southern continents (Gondwana) is not well known in comparison to the fossil record of what are now known as the northern continents (Laurasia). Questions regarding African endemism of vertebrate clades, dispersal routes, and biotic interchange between Gondwana and Laurasia thus remain open due to the lack of knowledge surrounding the Gondwanan fossil record.
Africa’s Mesozoic fossil record, in particular, is understudied, undersampled, and spotty. Much of our current knowledge of the Mesozoic fossil record of Africa is from the southern part of the continent, including Tanzania, Morocco, and South Africa. The goal of the Blue Nile Project is to broaden that geographic sampling and improve our knowledge of the Mesozoic fossil record in Africa by sampling fossiliferous sediments in Ethiopia.
Above: the crew meeting with local geologists
In mid-February, Greg and I traveled to Ethiopia to meet up with Mark, Randy, and Tadesse and execute paleontological reconnaissance. The team stayed in the city of Mekele (in the northern province of Tigray), and from there we traveled each day out of the city to explore the Jurassic sediments of the Agula Formation. For the first day of fieldwork, we re-visited an area where the other team members had found fossils during a past visit (this was my first time to Ethiopia!). A few fish scales and other small bone fragments were located and noted. Unfortunately, I was sick for the second day of fieldwork and not able to participate, but the other team members traveled to another location with Agula exposures. No fossils were found, but they were able to take stratigraphic sections and study the geology of the area.
Above: Greg and Randy surveying the area with the help of some locals
On the third day, we again traveled to a different area with Agula outcrops and found ourselves near a local village. For most of the day, everyone split up and prospected. Tadesse focused on the geology and was able to get a great idea of what the area was like—he found a sill (igneous rock intrusion) that was ~300 meters thick! Greg discovered a fish jaw and some other fish scales. Randy and Tadesse were also able to take rock samples for future palynology studies.
Towards the end of the day, I was looking for microfossils in one of the gullies and spotted some white rock encased in the stream bed. Upon closer inspection, the white rock seemed to have the shape of what looked like a rib. I noticed more white rock in the area, and thought it could have been bone. There was a large broad piece, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up (being that the team hadn’t found much in the area), and thought it could have just been some weird rock. I took some notes and left the site. In the next gully, I wound up meeting up with the other team members and shared some pictures that I had taken. Greg thought it was worth checking out, so I led him over to the site. He inspected the possible bones and got on his radio—“Hey Mark, Randy, and Tadesse. You all should come over and check this out. They are some bones over here that are clearly dinosaur.” Yes! Dinosaur bones! It was exciting to hear that I didn’t find some weird rock (albeit cool), and that it was actually a fossil. The other team members then came over and checked the site out. A burst of excitement and energy that ran through the team, and we decided to focus our efforts on quarrying, jacketing, and getting this dinosaur out of the rock and back to Addis Ababa.
Above: close-up view of the exposed dinosaur rib
The rest of our time in Mekele was spent quarrying and figuring out the logistics of getting the dinosaur bones out. Many of the kids of the nearby village stayed at the site with us each day and watched us work—they were curious about what we were doing and why we insisted on digging in this one particular spot. It was fun to get to know them! After further excavation, the team thought we had uncovered ribs and possibly elements of the pelvis of a Jurassic sauropod (long-necked dinosaur)! This specimen marks the first in-situ dinosaur bones found in Ethiopia!
Above: Alex poses with her sauropod discovery
Above: Greg, Randy, and Mark discussing how to excavate the site
Unfortunately, we hit some road blocks with the local governing authorities, and had to spend half of our time making sure we went through the proper avenues to obtain the proper permission to quarry the site. Because of this, and because the rock in which the fossil was encased was extremely hard and difficult to quarry without heavy equipment, we were not able to complete our excavation. We were able to put a plaster jacket on the exposed bones and buried the site for protection. Greg, Mark, and Randy plan to apply for further grant support to return to the site and finish the excavation of the sauropod bones.
Overall, it was an amazing trip with even better fossil finds!
Above: the crew celebrates post-fieldwork
Photo credits: Alex Brannick and Greg Wilson