Thursday, 29 August 2013
Abraham, Logan and Owen: The Discovery of the First Protichnites trackways – Part 1
“Protichnites is from the Greek Protos, the first, – Ichnos, foot-print, or track, – and Lithos, stone; literally – The first stone foot-prints.” (Elkanah Billings, 1857)
“PROTICHNITES (Gr. protos, first; ichnos, footprint)” (H. Alleyne Nicholson, 1876)
I suspect that everyone who has looked at the trackway that is the trace fossil Protichnites is aware that the first specimens were found in a quarry on the west side of the St. Louis River at Beauharnois, Quebec, that the first reports in the scientific papers were papers read before the Geological Society of London on April 30, 1851 by W. E. Logan and Professor Owen, that in the field season of 1851 W. E. Logan returned to Canada and with the aid of Mr. Richardson found numerous examples of similar trackways, principally at Henault’s field (a half mile west of the quarry on the River St. Louis), that in 1852 W. E. Logan and Professor Owen again presented papers before the Geological Society of London, that numerous drawings of the trackways accompanied the two papers, and that in Professor Owen’s paper the trackways were given the name Protichnites.
In his papers and reports Logan named the others besides himself who deserved credit for finding the initial trackways, and while Logan named the most significant contributors, their contributions are often overlooked. These named individuals are:
- Mr. Abraham, Editor of the Montreal Gazette,
- Mr. James Richardson, an employee of the Geological Survey of Canada, and
- Mr. Alexander Murray, Assistant Provincial Geologist at the Geological Survey of Canada.
Various unnamed quarrymen were also singled out by Logan.
Below I’ve also mentioned two other individuals: Sir Charles Lyell (a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day, who in his era published the most widely read books on geology) and Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (the author of comprehensive work on the Silurian System in Great Britain and elsewhere). Lyell promoted Logan’s discovery while Murchison initially questioned its importance. In part this is because Logan’s discovery called into question part of the latter’s book, Siluria, which described the geology and fossil content of much of the Paleozoic.
Today we accept that the trackmakers that left the Protichnites trackways were likely the first creatures to leave the oceans and walk on land. It is interesting to step back in time and take a brief look at the disbelief, the furor and amazement that the discovery of Protichnites trackways created, and at the speed with which the discovery circulated among geologists in England, Canada and the United States.
Below I’ve provided the important dates. When looking at the dates it is important to keep in mind that before Logan and Owen presented their papers in 1851 and 1852 the accepted belief was that before the Devonian no creature walked on land. It is also worth noting that what we now call the Cambrian and Ordovician were encompassed at that time within the Lower Silurian. It was an important time in the development of geology, and ideas were changing rapidly. In 1852 Lyell and Dawson made the celebrated discovery of tetrapod fossils entombed within an upright fossil tree at Joggins, Nova Scotia. It was not until 1859 that Darwin published On the Origin of Species and it was not until 1879 that the Ordovician was defined. It had not been two decades since Charles Lyell's multi-volume Principles of Geology was published from 1830 to 1833 . Wikipedia comments that Lyell “developed Hutton's idea that the earth was shaped entirely by slow-moving forces still in operation today, acting over a very long period of time. The terms uniformitarianism for this idea, and catastrophism for the opposing viewpoint, were coined by William Whewell in a review of Lyell's book. Principles of Geology was the most influential geological work in the middle of the 19th century.”
To understand what is written below one also has to have at least a passing understanding of the references to the “Old red sandstone.” This is a British a sequence of rock strata which is of considerable importance to early paleontology. In Logan’s time they were known as a sequence of Devonian rocks that are continental rather than marine in origin. The fossil fauna is characterized by primitive fishes. Near the top of the succession were found the first terrestrial tetrapod vertebrates. Today these rocks are mapped as extending from the late Silurian into the Devonian and on into the earliest part of the Carboniferous. Many early papers reference the Old Red Sandstone.
The Important Dates Concerning the Discovery of Protichnites
These are the important dates:
1847 - Mr. Robert Abraham, Editor of the Montreal Gazette, reports in his newspaper the discovery of the track in a sandstone quarry at Beauharnois, Quebec
1847 - Mr. Abraham brings the tracks to the attention of W. E. Logan. They are delayed by circumstances one year, and a premature and early snow the next, from visiting the occurrence.
1849 or 50 - W. E. Logan and Robert Abraham visit the site . (Later Mr. Sterry Hunt, Chemist to the Geological Survey of Canada, visits the site and finds many more tracks.)
December, 1850 - W. E. Logan has two specimens quarried from the quarry on the west side of the St. Louis River at Beauharnois, Quebec and has casts made of the larger specimen
Winter of 1851 – After the boats have left the St. Lawrence, Logan sails for London from Boston, taking with him a small slab bearing the trackway and six plaster casts of the large specimen, which weighs over a ton and is 12 and half feet in length. The original slab, because of its size, is left in the museum at Montreal connected with the Geological Survey of Canada.
March 18, 1851- Professor Owen sends a letter to Sir Charles Lyell, President to the Geological Society of London, commenting on the tracks (which is published as an addendum to Lyell’s February 18th Anniversary Address of the President to the Geological Society of London). The letter is a condensed version of the paper he presents in April.
April 30, 1851 - W. E. Logan and Professor Owen read papers before the Geological Society of London, exhibiting the small specimen and the casts. Important geologists, including Sir Roderick I. Murchison, contest the conclusions in the paper, doubting that the rock is as old as proposed by Logan.
July, 1851 - W. E. Logan exhibits the small specimen and the casts at a Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Ipswich, England. Logan’s talk is well received.
July, 1851 - The addendum to Lyell’s February 18th Anniversary Address of the President, including Professor Owen’s letter to Sir Charles Lyell, is published in The American Journal of Science and Arts
Field Season 1851 - Forty-three trackways are found in four areas in Henault’s field (a half mile west of the quarry on the River St. Louis). Additional trackways are found two and a half miles further westward close to the mouth of the Beauharnois Canal, on one of the Islands of St. Géneviève, in the vicinity of Point Cavagnol (on the south side of Lake of Two Mountains in Vaudreuil), in the vicinity of Pointe du Grand Détroit in Vaudreuil, at the summit of the escarpment along the Rivière du Nord at Lachute, and in Lansdowne and Bastard counties in Ontario.
September, 1851 - Robert Abraham publishes an article describing finding the occurrence, bringing it to Mr. Logan’s attention, his visit to the site with Logan
January 6, 1852 - Logan again sails for London, taking with him the original 12 ½ foot slab, a second slab from Henault’s field measuring 8 feet, a third slab with two tracks and ripple marks upon it from one of the Islands of St. Géneviève, and one hundred casts of trackways from Henault’s field.
February 21, 1852 - Logan writes to his brother James that “I am engaged night after night with Owen in the examination of the tracks, which make a wonderful display on the floor of the Geological Society. They cover the whole centre of the room. .. The anniversary of the Society took place yesterday, and the tracks excited great interest.”
After February 20, 1852- Owen sends a communication to William Hopkins, the new President of the Geological Society of London, advising that the tracks belong to Crustaceans. This is published as an addendum to the Anniversary Address of the President that was delivered on February 20th
1852 - Before March 24 - The fourth edition of Sir Charles Lyell’s text A Manual of Elementary Geology is published. Lyell devotes over two pages to the tracks, noting that “numerous other trails have since been observed ...and Mr. Logan, who has visited those places, will shortly publish a description of the phenomena.”
March 24, 1852 - W. E. Logan and Professor Owen read papers before the Geological Society of London. Following the papers, Logan reports “there was a glorious discussion.” Logan temporarily deposits the 8 foot slab from Henault’s field (bearing Protichnites latus) with the Society’s Museum, and deposits casts from Henault’s field (including the tracks Protichnites 7-notatus, Protichnites lineatus and Protichnites alternans) in the British Museum
Robert Abraham’s Discovery
The discovery of the first trackway that was later identified as Protichnites is reported concisely in a paper by Elkanah Billings published in 1857, who mentions:
“In 1847, the late Mr. Abraham, then Editor of the Montreal Gazette, announced in his paper that the tracks of a tortoise had been discovered in the sandstone of Beauharnois. He supposed this rock to be the equivalent of the old red sandstone, and, as previous to the publication of his notice no remains of reptiles had been found in formations of so ancient a date, these were regarded by him as particularly interesting. Mr. Logan’s attention was afterwards drawn to the discovery...”
Logan acknowledged Mr. Abraham’s contribution stating (a) in his 1851 paper that “My attention was first drawn to the track by Mr. Abraham, then editor of the Montreal Gazette, who duly appreciated its possible geological importance, and inserted a notice of it in his daily journal.”, (b) in the Report of Progress for the Year 1851-52 “The occurrence of the track near the mill by the St. Louis River at Beauharnois, had been pointed out to me by Mr. Arbraham, then editor of the Montreal Gazette, who had introduced a notice of it in his Journal, in which he compared it to the track of a tortoise.” and (c) in his 1863 book the Geology of Canada “The first track discovered was met with near the mill on the St. Louis River at Beauharnois; and the late Mr. Abraham, editor of the Montreal Gazette, was the first to draw attention to it, by notice in his journal, in which he compared it to a tortoise.”
Mr. Abraham’s contribution was acknowledged by Sir Charles Lyell, who commented in the addendum to his Anniversary Address mentioned above, that “The markings were first pointed out to Mr. Logan by Mr. Abraham, editor of the Montreal Gazette, who appreciated their geological significance.”
Sir Charles Lyell gave Robert Abraham even more credit in 1852 when he published the fourth edition of his text A Manual of Elementary Geology, where two full pages, and a part of a third, are devoted to the tracks. Lyell starts off his report with the sentences “In the year 1847, Mr. Robert Abraham announced in the Montreal Gazette, of which he was the editor, that the track of a freshwater tortoise had been observed on the surface of stratum of sandstone in a quarry opened on the banks of the St. Lawrence at Beauharnois in Upper Canada.... Imagining the rock to be the lowest member of the old red sandstone, he was aware that no traces had as yet been found of a reptile in strata of such antiquity. He was soon informed by Mr. Logan ... that the white sandstone above Montreal was really much older than the “Old Red, ” or Devonian. It had in fact been ascertained ... to lie at the base of the whole Silurian series.” Later Lyell notes that Mr. Abraham “was aware that no traces had as yet been found of a reptile in strata of such high antiquity” and that “Mr. Abraham has inferred that breadth of the quadruped was from five to seven inches.”
I have not been able to find the original article from the 1847 Montreal Gazette. I did find an article by Robert Abraham that was submitted on August 25, 1851 and published in September, 1851 where he describes finding the track, publishing his announcement in the Montreal Gazette, bringing it to the attention of W.E. Logan, and visiting the site with Logan. Here is a condensed version, in Robert Abraham's own words:
“About four years ago, when on the road to Beauharnois, I met Mr. Macmaster, of the Seigniory Mill of that village, who... told me that in the quarries above him, there were the tracks visible of a common mud-turtle or terrapin... I told him it was impossible, that no animal existed or could exist, at the time those rocks were deposited. He persisted... We accordingly went up to the quarry, when I wondered, and was convinced. Doubt there could be none that this was the path of a quadruped of some sort or other...
Mr. Logan was at that time from home, I think surveying the basins on the New Brunswick frontier. I published an account of the discovery in the Montreal Gazette... At that time I as under the impression ... that the rock was the oldest member of the old red sandstone series... Bold and brash that I was, I did not hesitate to express my opinion that the track really was that of a tortoise.
When Mr. Logan returned, towards the close of the autumn, he saw my paper, and though he had no doubt that the traces were those of an undescribed animal, he could not believe that they were those of a Chelonian reptile... And, moreover, he told me that the rock was even older than I had supposed;... belonging...to the lower Silurian series. The track might, he thought, be a of a gigantic centipede or millipede... I made a rude drawing... To this he objected, that an idle boy might have made a series of marks with a pickaxe, to produce the effect delineated. I answered ... that no human skill could produce the median trail with raised edges, whether due to a tail or to the convexity of a breastplate dragging through mud; that there were twelve or fifteen feet of a stratum of rock, about fifteen inches thick, under which the trail entered, and the other came out...
[Mr. Logan] arranged with me to go and look at the rock. Circumstances prevented him from doing so that year. The next year we were interrupted by a premature and heavy snow. On the third year he went with me, and wondered, as I had wondered before. The portions exposed had suffered from much from the action of frost and sun, but there was quite enough unexposed, to be quarried out, fresh and perfect. Mr. Logan took the opportunity of the great Exhibition, to lay casts and specimens before the Geological Society of London. ... [He] placed my original article in the hands of the Society, and Sir Charles Lyell has distinctly stated the material point, that I was aware of the importance of the discovery.
... I saw three impressions, including the one preserved; but Mr. Hunt, Chemist to the Geological establishment, has since been to the spot, and has found many more, including one striking phenomenon, where the foot of the creature has struck against a wave-marked ripple on what was then the sand. Mr. Logan has just informed me that many more have been detected.”
An interesting description by a person that Logan and others describe merely as the editor of the Montreal Gazette. It begs the question: Who was Robert Abraham? Various sources provide the answer: he was a man for all seasons. He was an Englishman from Cumberland. He trained as a medical doctor, graduating from the University of Edinburgh, but soon was drawn to journalism. He was medical editor of the Liverpool Journal before he emigrated to Canada and bought the Montreal Gazette in 1843 or 1844. He was the editor of the Gazette until 1848, and is supposed to have been an able writer but a militant journalist. After he sold the Montreal Gazette he became a lawyer, and was admitted to practice as an advocate in Lower Canada. He then returned as an editor of a newspaper and of an agricultural journal. He died at Montreal on November 10, 1854.
Above all, Robert Abraham was a writer. An example of his legal writing is the booklet published in 1849 entitled Some remarks upon the French tenure of "franc aleu roturier", and on its relation to the feudal and other tenures (that is available from archive.org). An example of Robert Abraham's writing on natural history is his 1851 article entitled Tracks of a Chelonian Reptile in the Lower Silurian formation, at Beauharnois , The British American Medical & Physical Journal, Volume 7, pages 195-200 (an article that I suspect had probably not seen the light of day for well over a century until I happened upon it). An example of his medical writing is Case of Sanguineous Apolexy, 1825, The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, volume 24, pages 301-304
Medical doctor, editor, militant journalist, lawyer, writer and the first to realize the significance of the tracks at Beauharnois. Quite a career.
A few additional details of his life can be found in a paper presented in 1869 by Sir Robert Gibb entitled Discoveries in Science by the Medical Philosopher, An Oration delivered to the Medical Society of London, which discusses the contributions of numerous medical doctors. Sir Robert Gibb mentions that Robert Abraham, an Englishman, “whom I had the pleasure of knowing well”, “was a surgeon, a Member of the London College, who at one time was in practice in Carlisle, and emigrated to Canada, where he became the Editor of the Montreal Gazette, a daily newspaper.” Those are the only facts about Mr. Abraham that Gibb can provide, though he speculates “Although we have no information concerning the student life of and early history of Robert Abraham, ... it is but fair to infer that the study of the animal world was not neglected by him before he became a member of the profession of which we all feel proud.”
In the notice of Robert Abraham's passing the Gazette highlighted his editorial writing, but also mentioned:
“ As a geologist and naturalist (particularly in his favourite branch of Natural History, Entomology) he had few equals in Canada– perhaps no superior on this continent.”
[I have not been able to find any of Robert Abraham’s writings on Entomology, but note that Canadians would have been more likely to have chosen W. E. Logan as the preeminent geologist on the continent, while Americans might have chosen Ebenezeer Emmons, James Hall or James Dwight Dana.]
Interestingly, Sir William Gibb, M.D., visited Abraham’s discovery in August, 1851. He states:
“Possessing myself some knowledge of the Science of Geology, ... I was forcibly struck with Abraham’s discovery, and when I first visited the locality where these impressions existed in August 1851 – eighteen years ago, before many of them had been disturbed,....”
Wouldn’t we all have liked to have visited the Beauharnois area in 1851.
Sadly, after about 1910 Mr. Abraham’s name is rarely mentioned in conjunction with the discovery of the trackways at Beauharnois. The discovery is often credited to Logan and Owen.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Part 2 on Protichnites will cover Logan’s two visits to England in 1851 and 1852
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Odd. Even for the Potsdam
Below are a number of photographs of slabs of sandstone from Burgess Ward, Tay Valley Township, Lanark County, Ontario. The area has been consistently mapped as Potsdam Group sandstone, which is from Middle to Upper Cambrian in age.
The sandstone at this location exhibits two facies: a wind blown facies evidenced by very fine cross bedding, and an aquatic facies evidenced by burrows (including U-shaped burrows that are Diplocraterion, and single burrows perpendicular to the bedding plane). The outcrop at this location is a drainage ditch, close to which are a number of piles of sandstone. Every time I visit I find something interesting.
First Slab: Photographs Sam_0499, 0500, 0501
These photos are likely of the sole of the slab, as it appears from photo 501 that the sand filled in a depression. Whether the depression was caused by burrowing or a vortex (caused by wind or water) is not clear. It is unfortunate that half of the depression is missing as one needs the missing half to tell whether the depression is a spiral.
Second Slab
Both the top and bottom of this slab are interesting. The top can be determined because of the V-shaped burrowing on one side.
Thin Brown Lines on Top of Second Slab: Photographs Sam_0471 and 0472
While these could easily be recent staining along roots, or staining cause by water seeping along fine cracks, I’ll have to pass this by an ichnologist and paleontologist before I rule it out as being a fossil. It would be particularly interesting if it were an algae from the Middle to Upper Cambrian.
[Added September 15, 2022:] Another possibility is that this is a fossil graptolite. See the graptolites in Figure 3 in the following paper:
Geyer, G., Landing, E., Meier, S. et al. , 2022, Oldest known West Gondwanan graptolite: Ovetograptus? sp. (lower Agdzian/lowest Wuliuan; basal Middle Cambrian) of the Franconian Forest, Germany, and review of pre-Furongian graptolithoids. PalZ (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-022-00627-5
Sole of Second Slab
White polygonal pattern within troughs in ripple marks: Photographs Sam_0507 and 0487
Is this a trace fossil somewhat like Paleodictyon? Possibly. Paleodictyon consists of a network of hexagonal meshes and has been found in rocks ranging in age from the Cambrian to recent times. Photographs of Paleodictyon can be found on Wikipedia and by simply searching the word in Google images (See, for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleodictyon
http://hexnet.org/content/paleodictyon ) The polygonal pattern on the slab that I have found resembles a number of the examples of trace fossils that others have identified as Paleodictyon.
Another possibility for the polygonal patterns is that they are evidence of microbial mat shrinkage cracks.
Crystals on Sole of Second Slab: Photo Sam_0506 (and above two photos)
These crystals are interesting. They are not calcite, as they don’t effervesce in dilute acid. From the colour and luster they appear to be gypsum, but the crystal system appears to be wrong for gypsum. I might have to beg a favour and pass a sample to a friend with access to a scanning electron microprobe.
Third Slab: Microbial Mat Shrinkage Cracks
The next photo, Sam_0510, shows three crescent shapes in the troughs of ripple marks in sandstone. I believe these curved shapes to be evidence of microbial mat shrinkage cracks (see my blog posting from November 5, 2012).
Fourth Slab: Burrowing in Ripple Marks: Sam_0475
I believe this to be burrowing as the hand specimen shows one sandstone tube going under the other. (I admit that the photo could be clearer.)
Fifth Slab: Diplocraterion: Sam_0464
I’m including this photo, not because the trace fossil is odd (it’s fairly common), but because I found a sample that shows a good cross-section of three Diplocraterion traces. (The top of the slab is on the right hand side of the photo.)
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
Monday, 12 August 2013
The Trace Fossil Diplichnites – A New Occurrence in Eastern Ontario
The trace fossil Diplichnites was named by Professor Dawson of McGill University in a paper presented about 140 years ago. It is a trackway that consists of two parallel rows of blunt to elongate to ellipsoidal, closely spaced tracks. It can be contrasted with the trace fossil Protichnites which is a trackway that consists of two parallel rows of imprints surrounding a medial impression.
Interestingly, the trace fossil Protichnites and the trace fossil Diplichnites are often found at the same occurrence. For example, Alexander Murray of the Geological Survey of Canada reported on such an occurrence in 1852, the same year William E. Logan and Professor Owen were presenting the initial papers on Protichnites.
Various researchers have commented on the association of Protichnites with Diplichnites. A few have suggested that “the Diplichnites may have been undertracks that penetrated to the underlying layer of sediment, and the fossil trackways thus produced on the top surface (preserving the impression of the dragging tail) were Protichnites” (Wikipedia). In contrast, others suggest that the Diplichnites tracks occur on the surface. For example, a recent paper discussing a few Diplichnites trackways in the Potsdam Group sandstones in Quebec mentions that “Examples with pushback mounds and examples that occur on bed surfaces with adhesion structures are not likely undertracks; their lack of central drag marks suggest that some tracemakers held their tails aloft...” (Hagadorn, Lacelle and Groulx, 2012). A third possibility is that the tracksways grade into one another. This was noted by a researcher who reported that “Several tracks of Diplichnites are also present, with a medial drag mark appearing in places, grading into Protichnites.” (Charles. T. Hoxie, 2005).
Below I’ve provided photographs of specimens of Diplichnites trackways from the same outlier of Potsdam Group sandstone between Kingston and Perth where I found the specimens of Protichnites mentioned in my last blog posting.
Photos SAM_0491 and SAM_0492 were taken of the same slab. They show a Diplichnites trackway (two parallel rows of tracks) crossing ripple marks. This is likely the sole of an overturned slab, as the footprints are in positive relief.
Photo SAM_0435.JPG is a different slab. It clearly shows two parallel rows of tracks.
Photo SAM_0438.JPG is a specimen that was collected close to the specimen shown in Photo SAM_0435.JPG. There is one good line of circles (arguably paired with another line of circles), plus crossing lines of circles, plus numerous other circles.
Below are photos SAM_0495 and SAM_0497 of two slabs that might bear the trackway Diplichnites.
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
Interestingly, the trace fossil Protichnites and the trace fossil Diplichnites are often found at the same occurrence. For example, Alexander Murray of the Geological Survey of Canada reported on such an occurrence in 1852, the same year William E. Logan and Professor Owen were presenting the initial papers on Protichnites.
Various researchers have commented on the association of Protichnites with Diplichnites. A few have suggested that “the Diplichnites may have been undertracks that penetrated to the underlying layer of sediment, and the fossil trackways thus produced on the top surface (preserving the impression of the dragging tail) were Protichnites” (Wikipedia). In contrast, others suggest that the Diplichnites tracks occur on the surface. For example, a recent paper discussing a few Diplichnites trackways in the Potsdam Group sandstones in Quebec mentions that “Examples with pushback mounds and examples that occur on bed surfaces with adhesion structures are not likely undertracks; their lack of central drag marks suggest that some tracemakers held their tails aloft...” (Hagadorn, Lacelle and Groulx, 2012). A third possibility is that the tracksways grade into one another. This was noted by a researcher who reported that “Several tracks of Diplichnites are also present, with a medial drag mark appearing in places, grading into Protichnites.” (Charles. T. Hoxie, 2005).
Below I’ve provided photographs of specimens of Diplichnites trackways from the same outlier of Potsdam Group sandstone between Kingston and Perth where I found the specimens of Protichnites mentioned in my last blog posting.
Photos SAM_0491 and SAM_0492 were taken of the same slab. They show a Diplichnites trackway (two parallel rows of tracks) crossing ripple marks. This is likely the sole of an overturned slab, as the footprints are in positive relief.
Photo SAM_0435.JPG is a different slab. It clearly shows two parallel rows of tracks.
Photo SAM_0438.JPG is a specimen that was collected close to the specimen shown in Photo SAM_0435.JPG. There is one good line of circles (arguably paired with another line of circles), plus crossing lines of circles, plus numerous other circles.
Below are photos SAM_0495 and SAM_0497 of two slabs that might bear the trackway Diplichnites.
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
A New Occurrence of Protichnites in Potsdam Group Sandstone near Kingston, Ontario
Below I’ve provided photographs of slabs of sandstone bearing the trace fossil Protichnites that I collected on July 4th with Wayne Jackson. The specimens were collected from a quarry in an outlier that has been mapped as Potsdam Group, and is considered to be Cambrian in age. The specimens belong to the Nepean (Keeseville) formation of the Potsdam Group.
The first two photos show three specimens that were offered to the Miller Museum of Geology at Queen’s University and were picked up by the Museum Curator on July 5th. The other photographs are closeup shots of the specimens, some as they were awaiting pickup and others as they were found.
Each of the Protichnites trackways is roughly 16 to 17 cm ( 6 ½ inches) wide and cuts across ripple marks in the sandstone. In the first two photos the slabs at the top and bottom are the natural cast in the sediment laid down on top of the original trackway, while the middle slab records the original trackway. The Protichnites trace fossil is a trackway that is believed to have been made by a creature with multiple legs and a tail, with the central furrow in the trackway being a tail drag mark. (The furrow appears as a ridge in the cast.) In the specimens in the photographs the central furrow is 3 to 4 cm wide and some of the footprints are up to 1 cm in diameter.
This is a new occurrence of Protichnites in the Potsdam Group Sandstones and was found near Kingston, Ontario.
I should thank my wife for meeting me for coffee on July 4th and encouraging me to take the rest of the afternoon off to go look for fossils. Without her encouragement I might have stayed in the office and worked.
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
(July 12th, 2013 Addendum : Since posting the above I have been contacted by a friend, Dave Lowe, who is studying the Potsdam Group, who has told me that in addition to the Chippewa Bay member this outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa, with an angular erosional unconformity between the two. I was wrong in assigning the specimens that I collected to the Covey Hill Formation. [ April 26, 2023, Addendum:] When I originally wrote this posting I relied on Sanford and Arnott (2010) and identified the sandstone as the Chippewa Bay Member, Covey Hill Formation, of the Potsdam Group. In July, 2013 Dave Lowe told me that the outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa. Now I would clearly identify the sandstone where the specimens were found as Nepean (Keeseville) formation as I found Protichnites, Diplichnites, Climactichnites and the basal, U shaped, part of Arenicolites or Diplocraterion fossils in this sandstone. ]
The first two photos show three specimens that were offered to the Miller Museum of Geology at Queen’s University and were picked up by the Museum Curator on July 5th. The other photographs are closeup shots of the specimens, some as they were awaiting pickup and others as they were found.
Each of the Protichnites trackways is roughly 16 to 17 cm ( 6 ½ inches) wide and cuts across ripple marks in the sandstone. In the first two photos the slabs at the top and bottom are the natural cast in the sediment laid down on top of the original trackway, while the middle slab records the original trackway. The Protichnites trace fossil is a trackway that is believed to have been made by a creature with multiple legs and a tail, with the central furrow in the trackway being a tail drag mark. (The furrow appears as a ridge in the cast.) In the specimens in the photographs the central furrow is 3 to 4 cm wide and some of the footprints are up to 1 cm in diameter.
This is a new occurrence of Protichnites in the Potsdam Group Sandstones and was found near Kingston, Ontario.
I should thank my wife for meeting me for coffee on July 4th and encouraging me to take the rest of the afternoon off to go look for fossils. Without her encouragement I might have stayed in the office and worked.
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
(July 12th, 2013 Addendum : Since posting the above I have been contacted by a friend, Dave Lowe, who is studying the Potsdam Group, who has told me that in addition to the Chippewa Bay member this outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa, with an angular erosional unconformity between the two. I was wrong in assigning the specimens that I collected to the Covey Hill Formation. [ April 26, 2023, Addendum:] When I originally wrote this posting I relied on Sanford and Arnott (2010) and identified the sandstone as the Chippewa Bay Member, Covey Hill Formation, of the Potsdam Group. In July, 2013 Dave Lowe told me that the outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa. Now I would clearly identify the sandstone where the specimens were found as Nepean (Keeseville) formation as I found Protichnites, Diplichnites, Climactichnites and the basal, U shaped, part of Arenicolites or Diplocraterion fossils in this sandstone. ]
Thursday, 20 June 2013
A Few Trace Fossils in Potsdam Group Sandstones of Eastern Ontario
The Potsdam Group sandstones and conglomerates generally form the basal layer of Paleozoic rocks overlying the Precambrian Shield in Eastern Ontario. The sandstones are thought to be middle to upper Cambrian in age, are generally barren of body fossils (they yield the occasional Brachiopod), but contain abundant trace fossils. The most common trace fossils found in the Potsdam Group sandstones in Lanark County are worm burrows, including burrows perpendicular to the bedding plane (with Diplocraterion and Skolithos being the most common that I've found) and burrows parallel to the bedding plane. (My posting on October 1, 2012 is a field trip to eight outcrops near Perth, where seven of the outcrops are Potsdam Group sandstones that exhibit mostly Diplocraterion but also possible Arenicolites burrows.) The most famous trace fossils to come out of Lanark County are Climactichnites trails and Protichnites trackways. However, only one quarry in Lanark County has yielded those fossils.
The Potsdam Group sandstones outcrop south of Perth down towards Brockville and down towards Kingston. Those sandstones also exhibit trace fossils, with the sandstones near Sunbury yielding museum quality specimens of Protichnites trackways and Climactichnites trails.
This past weekend I headed south to take photographs of sandstone outcrops, noted some interesting trace fossils, and went back yesterday to collect a slab of rock. Below are a few of my photos of slabs of rock found south of Lanark County.
The first two photos, Sam_0382 and Sam_0383 show a ridge that I suspect is a surface trail beside ripple marks, where the ridge is similar to the pushed up lateral ridge for a Climactichnites trail. (The ridge is a surface feature.)
The next three photos, Sam_0354 , Sam_0356 and Sam_0361, are from the same slab . These show a trace fossil that is a trackway that extends across the slab . It is arguably the trace fossil Diplopodichnus, which is a trackway consisting of a pair of longitudinally continuous lateral furrows.
The next two photos, Sam_0358 and Sam_0359, were taken of a different slab of rock, and show two curved grooves. If a reader can provide a name to attach to this trace, please let me know. My best guess: a bilobate trace, which consists of an meandering trench bounded by a ridge of excavated sediment on either side.
The last photo, Sam_0379, shows a narrow burrow parallel to the bedding surface of a different slab where the burrow cuts across ripple marks. This burrow is more like a cylinder or tube.
The above photos are of loose slabs of rocks at an outlier that was mapped as part of the Covey Hill Formation of the Potsdam Group in 2010 by B.V. Sanford and R.W.C. Arnott. (Stratigraphic and structural framework of the Potsdam Group in eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and northern New York State; Sanford, B. V. and Arnott, R. W. C. (2010); Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 597, 2010)
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
(July 12th Addendum: Since posting the above I have been contacted by a friend who is studying the Potsdam Group, who has told me that in addition to the Chippewa Bay member of the Covey Hill Formation this outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa, with an angular erosional unconformity between the two. Accordingly, I may have been wrong in assigning the specimens that I collected to the Covey Hill Formation. ]
The Potsdam Group sandstones outcrop south of Perth down towards Brockville and down towards Kingston. Those sandstones also exhibit trace fossils, with the sandstones near Sunbury yielding museum quality specimens of Protichnites trackways and Climactichnites trails.
This past weekend I headed south to take photographs of sandstone outcrops, noted some interesting trace fossils, and went back yesterday to collect a slab of rock. Below are a few of my photos of slabs of rock found south of Lanark County.
The first two photos, Sam_0382 and Sam_0383 show a ridge that I suspect is a surface trail beside ripple marks, where the ridge is similar to the pushed up lateral ridge for a Climactichnites trail. (The ridge is a surface feature.)
The next three photos, Sam_0354 , Sam_0356 and Sam_0361, are from the same slab . These show a trace fossil that is a trackway that extends across the slab . It is arguably the trace fossil Diplopodichnus, which is a trackway consisting of a pair of longitudinally continuous lateral furrows.
The next two photos, Sam_0358 and Sam_0359, were taken of a different slab of rock, and show two curved grooves. If a reader can provide a name to attach to this trace, please let me know. My best guess: a bilobate trace, which consists of an meandering trench bounded by a ridge of excavated sediment on either side.
The last photo, Sam_0379, shows a narrow burrow parallel to the bedding surface of a different slab where the burrow cuts across ripple marks. This burrow is more like a cylinder or tube.
The above photos are of loose slabs of rocks at an outlier that was mapped as part of the Covey Hill Formation of the Potsdam Group in 2010 by B.V. Sanford and R.W.C. Arnott. (Stratigraphic and structural framework of the Potsdam Group in eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and northern New York State; Sanford, B. V. and Arnott, R. W. C. (2010); Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 597, 2010)
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
(July 12th Addendum: Since posting the above I have been contacted by a friend who is studying the Potsdam Group, who has told me that in addition to the Chippewa Bay member of the Covey Hill Formation this outlier also exhibits a younger facies similar to the Nepean Formation near Ottawa, with an angular erosional unconformity between the two. Accordingly, I may have been wrong in assigning the specimens that I collected to the Covey Hill Formation. ]
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Perthite, Part 2
In my posting last January 14th I set out where to find what is believed to be the type locality for Perthite.
In February I received an email from Luis Sánchez-Muñoz, a researcher with the Institute for Ceramics and Glasses in Madrid, Spain, who identified himself as a geologist who had being doing research on alkali feldspars from pegmatites since 1989, said that he would be visiting Ontario and Quebec to collect specimens of alkali feldspars from famous pegmatites, and that he would be visiting to collect specimens from the type locality. Later I received an email saying he would be joined by Professor Robert Martin of McGill University. On June 5th I was pleased to welcome them to Perth and provide them with a selection of specimens of Perthite from which to choose. Surprisingly, Luis Sánchez-Muñoz only wanted two. Not surprisingly, he chose two specimens showing two directions of good cleavage.
For those interested in perthitic feldspars a recent paper by Luis Sánchez-Muñoz and a number of co-authors is available over the internet. The paper is entitled The Evolution of Twin Patterns in Perthitic K-Feldspar from Granitic Pegmatites, and was published in the August, 2012 edition of The Canadian Mineralogist, Volume 50, No. 4, pages 989-1024. Figure 21, which is a schematic model for a ten stage general evolutionary sequence of transformations in perthitic K-rich feldspar, with indications of twinning and exsolution, and the explanation in the paper, are interesting, as the authors develop a process that ties the development of twinning patterns into the formation of exsolved Albite.
Luis Sánchez-Muñoz and Professor Martin mentioned that they hoped to visit a number of other pegmatite localities in Lanark County, including the famous Bathurst mine. Readers who are mineral collectors will be likely be aware of the mine, as it was Ontario’s second largest feldspar mine (producing 106,018 tons of feldspar), is listed in at least two of Ann Sabina’s mineral collecting guidebooks, and is easily accessible from Perth. (It is on the northeast side of Old Mine Road, which connects McVeigh Road to Bathurst 9th Concession Road.) It has been forty years since I was there, and I can’t help thinking that it’s probably worth a visit, as it is only 12 kilometers from Perth and there are at least four other abandoned feldspar mines in pegmatites in that area.
When they left I could not help wondering if Professor Martin knew what he had signed up for. An article on the web describes a visit in August of 2010 by Dr. Luis Sánchez- Muñoz to Colorado, where he visited 23 pegamites in five days in pursuit of samples of microcline feldspar. (See: Twenty three pegmatites in five Days, a Colorado field trip saga by Peter J. Modreski and Luis Sanchez-Munoz, an Abstract at the 32nd Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/museum/minsymp/abstracts/view.cfml?aid=378 )
Since I posted my blog last January, two points on Perthite have caught my eye. First, I was scanning the second edition of Deer, Howie & Zussman’s book Rock-Forming Minerals, Volume 4A, Framework Silcates - Feldspars, and couldn’t help but notice that they mention (at page 5) that "Perthite takes its name from Perth, Quebec, an early locality." That statement is of course wrong, as Perthite takes its name from Perth, Ontario.
Second, I noticed an analysis and description of Perthite from the type locality near Perth, Ontario in an article by Charles H Warren entitled A Quantitative Study of Certain Perthitic Feldspars, that was published in 1915 in Volume 51 of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Science, starting at page 139. In his paper Charles Warren compared specimens of Perthite from two localities in Canada, four in the United States and two in Finland. This is Charles Warren’s analysis of Perthite from the type locality near Perth:
SiO2 66.50
Al2O3 18.40
Fe2O3 1.05
MnO Trace
MgO .07
CaO .03
K2O 8.77
Na2O 5.40
H2O .20
Total 100.69 Sp. Gr. 2.597
He estimated that it contained 51.9% Microcline by weight and 47.3% Albite by weight.
Charles Warren provided this description of his specimen from Perth, Ontario:
"This specimen, from the original locality, is the richest in albite of any of the feldspars studied. It consists of a rather dark reddish-brown microcline intergrown with about an equal amount of a light red to almost white albite. The red color is due to the presence of exceedingly minute crystal scales of hematite which are chiefly contained to the microcline. They are usually arranged along definite crystallographic directions. Some hematite is found along fractures in the albite, or is more irregularly placed. ... The albite lamellae seldom exceed 1mm isn width while a commonly observed width is 0.5 mm. The microcline bands will in general average broader than the albite. The orientation of the bands is fairly uniform parallel to the usual direction, but there is a common tendency to bend off toward the direction of the prism and often many short bands coalesce along this same direction. Pinching and swelling, branching and coalescing, often in a very complex fashion, are common particularly in certain areas. The albite forms minutely pointed surfaces of contact with the microcline as a rule. The microcline sometimes shows very distinct polysynthetic twinning but more often this is faintly developed and is often not visible at all."
Charles Warren was limited by the technology of his day: microscopic viewing of thin sections, and chemical analysis of bulk samples. It will be interesting to see what Luis Sánchez- Muñoz finds with current analytical techniques: polarized light optical microscopy, electron probe micro-analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cathodluminescence imaging, micro-Ramon spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance, all techniques mentioned in his paper that I referred to above. It was nice to assist a visitor from Spain, and it will be interesting to read the results of his research.
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
In February I received an email from Luis Sánchez-Muñoz, a researcher with the Institute for Ceramics and Glasses in Madrid, Spain, who identified himself as a geologist who had being doing research on alkali feldspars from pegmatites since 1989, said that he would be visiting Ontario and Quebec to collect specimens of alkali feldspars from famous pegmatites, and that he would be visiting to collect specimens from the type locality. Later I received an email saying he would be joined by Professor Robert Martin of McGill University. On June 5th I was pleased to welcome them to Perth and provide them with a selection of specimens of Perthite from which to choose. Surprisingly, Luis Sánchez-Muñoz only wanted two. Not surprisingly, he chose two specimens showing two directions of good cleavage.
For those interested in perthitic feldspars a recent paper by Luis Sánchez-Muñoz and a number of co-authors is available over the internet. The paper is entitled The Evolution of Twin Patterns in Perthitic K-Feldspar from Granitic Pegmatites, and was published in the August, 2012 edition of The Canadian Mineralogist, Volume 50, No. 4, pages 989-1024. Figure 21, which is a schematic model for a ten stage general evolutionary sequence of transformations in perthitic K-rich feldspar, with indications of twinning and exsolution, and the explanation in the paper, are interesting, as the authors develop a process that ties the development of twinning patterns into the formation of exsolved Albite.
Luis Sánchez-Muñoz and Professor Martin mentioned that they hoped to visit a number of other pegmatite localities in Lanark County, including the famous Bathurst mine. Readers who are mineral collectors will be likely be aware of the mine, as it was Ontario’s second largest feldspar mine (producing 106,018 tons of feldspar), is listed in at least two of Ann Sabina’s mineral collecting guidebooks, and is easily accessible from Perth. (It is on the northeast side of Old Mine Road, which connects McVeigh Road to Bathurst 9th Concession Road.) It has been forty years since I was there, and I can’t help thinking that it’s probably worth a visit, as it is only 12 kilometers from Perth and there are at least four other abandoned feldspar mines in pegmatites in that area.
When they left I could not help wondering if Professor Martin knew what he had signed up for. An article on the web describes a visit in August of 2010 by Dr. Luis Sánchez- Muñoz to Colorado, where he visited 23 pegamites in five days in pursuit of samples of microcline feldspar. (See: Twenty three pegmatites in five Days, a Colorado field trip saga by Peter J. Modreski and Luis Sanchez-Munoz, an Abstract at the 32nd Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/museum/minsymp/abstracts/view.cfml?aid=378 )
Since I posted my blog last January, two points on Perthite have caught my eye. First, I was scanning the second edition of Deer, Howie & Zussman’s book Rock-Forming Minerals, Volume 4A, Framework Silcates - Feldspars, and couldn’t help but notice that they mention (at page 5) that "Perthite takes its name from Perth, Quebec, an early locality." That statement is of course wrong, as Perthite takes its name from Perth, Ontario.
Second, I noticed an analysis and description of Perthite from the type locality near Perth, Ontario in an article by Charles H Warren entitled A Quantitative Study of Certain Perthitic Feldspars, that was published in 1915 in Volume 51 of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Science, starting at page 139. In his paper Charles Warren compared specimens of Perthite from two localities in Canada, four in the United States and two in Finland. This is Charles Warren’s analysis of Perthite from the type locality near Perth:
SiO2 66.50
Al2O3 18.40
Fe2O3 1.05
MnO Trace
MgO .07
CaO .03
K2O 8.77
Na2O 5.40
H2O .20
Total 100.69 Sp. Gr. 2.597
He estimated that it contained 51.9% Microcline by weight and 47.3% Albite by weight.
Charles Warren provided this description of his specimen from Perth, Ontario:
"This specimen, from the original locality, is the richest in albite of any of the feldspars studied. It consists of a rather dark reddish-brown microcline intergrown with about an equal amount of a light red to almost white albite. The red color is due to the presence of exceedingly minute crystal scales of hematite which are chiefly contained to the microcline. They are usually arranged along definite crystallographic directions. Some hematite is found along fractures in the albite, or is more irregularly placed. ... The albite lamellae seldom exceed 1mm isn width while a commonly observed width is 0.5 mm. The microcline bands will in general average broader than the albite. The orientation of the bands is fairly uniform parallel to the usual direction, but there is a common tendency to bend off toward the direction of the prism and often many short bands coalesce along this same direction. Pinching and swelling, branching and coalescing, often in a very complex fashion, are common particularly in certain areas. The albite forms minutely pointed surfaces of contact with the microcline as a rule. The microcline sometimes shows very distinct polysynthetic twinning but more often this is faintly developed and is often not visible at all."
Charles Warren was limited by the technology of his day: microscopic viewing of thin sections, and chemical analysis of bulk samples. It will be interesting to see what Luis Sánchez- Muñoz finds with current analytical techniques: polarized light optical microscopy, electron probe micro-analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cathodluminescence imaging, micro-Ramon spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance, all techniques mentioned in his paper that I referred to above. It was nice to assist a visitor from Spain, and it will be interesting to read the results of his research.
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
Monday, 6 May 2013
On the trail of Climactichnites wilsoni - Part 3: A quarry about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859
I have found an overgrown, abandoned small quarry that is about a mile from the town of Perth as the town existed in 1859 at the edge of the Blueberry Marsh on property that was owned in 1859 by Mr. James Glen, and that lies in Concession III of Drummond Township. The rock in the quarry is flat lying white Nepean sandstone (Potsdam Group). Is this the quarry described by Sir William Logan where Dr. James Wilson and Mr. Richardson collected specimens of Climatichnites and Protichnites in the period from 1859 to 1882? Possibly. One side of the quarry is a sandstone ridge about 1.5 meters high and at least 15 meters long. Three other sides of the quarry meld into the Blueberry Marsh. The base of the quarry is about 15 meters by 10 meters and when I found the quarry this past winter was flooded and frozen. The owner of the property tells me that the base of the quarry, which in summer is a pond, is over a meter deep, half filled with water and half filled with silt.
The following photograph shows the quarry on January 27.
The following photograph shows the quarry on February 1.
The quarry meets the following criteria set out in Logan (1860) and (1863): it is composed of fine grained Potsdam Sandstone (which in Ontario we would now call the Nepean Formation of the Potsdam Group), the quarry is at least three feet deep, the beds in the quarry are flat lying, the quarry is about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859, the owner of the property in 1859 was either Mr. Glyn (Logan 1860) or Mr. Glen (Logan 1863), and the quarry is in Concession III of Drummond Township. The quarry is not in Lot 6 of Concession III, where Logan (1863) said the quarry was located, but in Lot 3. However, as noted in my blog posting that is part 2 of this series, Sir William Logan never visited the quarry, neither Mr. Glyn nor Mr. Glen owned property in Lot 6, and the most recent geologic mapping of Lot 6 suggests that Lot 6 is March Formation rather than Nepean sandstone .
The quarry also meets the following criteria for the quarry set out in an article written for Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society in about 1900: it is in the Blueberry Marsh on property owned by Mr. James Glen when Dr. James Wilson first found the specimens that Sir William Logan later named Climactichnites Wilsoni.
While I believe that this is likely the quarry that yielded the first slabs with Climactichnites wilsoni, it can only be verified as that quarry if it yields additional specimens of Climactichnites wilsoni (or perhaps Protichnites).
When I visited the quarry the last week of January and first week of February the ground was frozen and partially covered by snow. It was not possible to pry specimens out of the ground or moss off the rocks. A later snowfall buried the quarry in over a foot (30 cm) of snow. Two weeks ago the property owner allowed me to take a group of geologists to visit the quarry, and the five of us spent two hours stripping moss and soil, and then examining the rock that we had exposed. This introductory search did not reveal the trace fossils of most interest. The problem is that the quarry is overgrown and covered in soil and moss, and we do not know the layer where the trace fossils of interest can be found. We stripped away some of the soil and moss, which is generally about 3 - 8 cm thick, uncovering about 4 to 6 square meters of horizontal and vertical surface. In the sandstone we found vertical worm holes, which Dr. Donaldson identified as skolithos, and some small angular features that he thought might be traces of parts of microbial mats. There is very little overburden and glacial striae are visible on the surface rock. Cross-bedding is visible in one section of sandstone.
Getty and Hagadorn (2008) recognized two behavioral variants of Climactichnites, with Climactichnites wilsoni representing surface-produced trails, while Climactichnites youngi represents burrows produced below the surface. Figure 6 in Getty and Hagadorn (2008) shows three photographs of a Climactichnites youngi specimen from Quebec. Their third photograph is a cross section of the Climactichnites youngi burrow, which appears as a lensoid wedge-shaped sediment infill, much like my photo above.
Only further investigation will reveal whether the quarry that I have found is the one where Dr. James Wilson first found the trace fossil Climactichnites. However, it fits many of the criteria laid down by Sir William Logan and represents a good chance at being the quarry.
Below I have laid out how I found the quarry.
While searching for quarries in Drummond Township I looked at the book A History of Drummond Township, by John C. Ebbs, published in 1999. In the chapter entitled Fine Stone Homes of Drummond, Ebbs mentions a stone house on the E1/2 Lot 3, Concession 3 and that "It is believed the house was built by the owner, Mr. Glenn, c. 1848." No photo of the house appeared in the book. Driving around the southern third of Lot 3 I found an old stone house on the north side of Dufferin Road on the west half of Lot 3 that I thought might be the old ‘Glenn’ house. The house is constructed of white sandstone. Below is a photograph of the farmhouse. Stones in the walls exhibit the trace fossil diplocraterion.
I looked at the Registry Act pages for Lot 3, Concession III for the Township of Drummond. The Registry page for the West Half of Lot 3, Concession III reveals: (A) that by Quit Claim Deed dated March 12, 1844 Roderick Matheson granted to James Glen the North east half of the west half of lot 3; and (B) that by separate deeds dated from 1831 to 1845 Oliver Glen acquired other parts of the west half of lot 3. Their presence on Lot 3 is confirmed by the 1851 census for Canada West (now Ontario), which I found online, which shows that James Glen owned 76 acres and Oliver Glen owned 24 acres in Lot 3, Concession III of Drummond Township.
While at the Lanark Archives in Drummond Center in early January I was shown an article by Clyde Bell in a 1963 edition of the Perth Courier. Clyde Bell, at the time he wrote the article, was the Perth Museum’s director of information. Most of the article talked about Dr. James Wilson and the founding of the Perth Museum by Archie Campbell. Part of this article talked about Dr. James Wilson making a discovery on a farm belonging to John Glenn, in the blueberry marsh, of a fossil that was identified in Montreal as a mammoth mollusc. While some parts of the article are a bit bizarre, it seemed to describe the finding of Climactichnites, and to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. The article concluded with Clyde Bell commenting "And by the way, we would like to know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by John Glenn." When I read that article I wondered if"John Glenn" was a mistaken reference to the U.S. astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth. In all likelihood it was, as John Glenn orbited the earth in 1962.
Subsequently I Googled key words from Clyde Bell’s article. This turned up a very similar article on The Lanark County Genealogical Society’s web page. The article is entitled Mining in Lanark County and bears the comment "This undated, unsigned typescript was probably written for the Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society, about 1900." A small part of that article describes the finding of Climactichnites, and again (and, more believably, given its date) appears to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman, Mr. John Hart, who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. One point that is worth noting is that while Clyde Bell’s article referred to the farm of "John Glenn", the original article from about 1900 referred to the farm of "James Glenn." Here is the part of the original article from "about 1900" that deals with the finding of Climactichnites:
"Dr. Wilson's practice led him over a large range of country. He took his hammer with him, and many a bag of stones was brought in for him by the farmers. Some of these he sent to the museum in Montreal, and they have since been removed with the rest of the collection to Ottawa.
What was to him his greatest discovery, was made on the farm of James Glenn. It is supposed the famous blueberry marsh was once a lake. The centre of it is depressed, and the hard ground surrounding it shows signs of ripple marks in thin strata from an inch or less to three inches in thickness. In these the Doctor thought he saw the trunks of fallen trees of a tropical climate. ... He sent specimens ten feet high to Montreal, which were examined by experts and declared to be something, that translated means "first tracks", the tracks of some mammoth mollusc."
I believe that article describes the large specimen of Climactichnites collected by Mr. Richardson in 1859 that hung in Sir William Logan’s office and measured about 10 feet by 7 feet.
If Clyde Bell had framed his question "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by James Glenn?" or as "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township adjacent to the Blueberry Marsh was formerly owned by James Glenn at the time Dr. Wilson found the first specimens of Climactichnites?" perhaps he would have received the answer that a "James Glen" had owned such a farm on the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III.
I decided to test my belief that it was worth looking for a quarry on property that was owned after 1844 by James Glen that falls in the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III, Drummond Township where the Blueberry Marsh encroaches on the farm, and identified the most likely location using Google Satellite view. On a sunny, refreshing (minus 11 degrees Celsius) day in January I went for a hike to look for a quarry in the Blueberry Marsh and within a few minutes of arriving at the spot I had identified, found angular pieces of fine grained white sandstone and the side of what I believed to be an overgrown, moss encrusted, shallow quarry. The snow, ice, frozen moss and frozen ground made looking for specimens difficult, and I found none exhibiting Climactichnites or Protichnites. After a few warm days at the end of January had melted more of the snow, I went back on a frigid day in February to again visit the quarry and take additional photographs.
I should add that my wife accompanied me on my first visit to the quarry in late January. While I had asked four others whether they wanted to go for a hike in the Blueberry Marsh to look for a quarry, all of them were too busy, and a few were busy until April. And there wasn’t even that much snow on the ground.
Further visits to the quarry are planned with a number of geologists that have expressed an interest in visiting the quarry. I will post if we find the trace fossils of most interest.
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
Below I have laid out how I found the quarry.
While searching for quarries in Drummond Township I looked at the book A History of Drummond Township, by John C. Ebbs, published in 1999. In the chapter entitled Fine Stone Homes of Drummond, Ebbs mentions a stone house on the E1/2 Lot 3, Concession 3 and that "It is believed the house was built by the owner, Mr. Glenn, c. 1848." No photo of the house appeared in the book. Driving around the southern third of Lot 3 I found an old stone house on the north side of Dufferin Road on the west half of Lot 3 that I thought might be the old ‘Glenn’ house. The house is constructed of white sandstone. Below is a photograph of the farmhouse. Stones in the walls exhibit the trace fossil diplocraterion.
I looked at the Registry Act pages for Lot 3, Concession III for the Township of Drummond. The Registry page for the West Half of Lot 3, Concession III reveals: (A) that by Quit Claim Deed dated March 12, 1844 Roderick Matheson granted to James Glen the North east half of the west half of lot 3; and (B) that by separate deeds dated from 1831 to 1845 Oliver Glen acquired other parts of the west half of lot 3. Their presence on Lot 3 is confirmed by the 1851 census for Canada West (now Ontario), which I found online, which shows that James Glen owned 76 acres and Oliver Glen owned 24 acres in Lot 3, Concession III of Drummond Township.
While at the Lanark Archives in Drummond Center in early January I was shown an article by Clyde Bell in a 1963 edition of the Perth Courier. Clyde Bell, at the time he wrote the article, was the Perth Museum’s director of information. Most of the article talked about Dr. James Wilson and the founding of the Perth Museum by Archie Campbell. Part of this article talked about Dr. James Wilson making a discovery on a farm belonging to John Glenn, in the blueberry marsh, of a fossil that was identified in Montreal as a mammoth mollusc. While some parts of the article are a bit bizarre, it seemed to describe the finding of Climactichnites, and to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. The article concluded with Clyde Bell commenting "And by the way, we would like to know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by John Glenn." When I read that article I wondered if"John Glenn" was a mistaken reference to the U.S. astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth. In all likelihood it was, as John Glenn orbited the earth in 1962.
Subsequently I Googled key words from Clyde Bell’s article. This turned up a very similar article on The Lanark County Genealogical Society’s web page. The article is entitled Mining in Lanark County and bears the comment "This undated, unsigned typescript was probably written for the Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society, about 1900." A small part of that article describes the finding of Climactichnites, and again (and, more believably, given its date) appears to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman, Mr. John Hart, who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. One point that is worth noting is that while Clyde Bell’s article referred to the farm of "John Glenn", the original article from about 1900 referred to the farm of "James Glenn." Here is the part of the original article from "about 1900" that deals with the finding of Climactichnites:
"Dr. Wilson's practice led him over a large range of country. He took his hammer with him, and many a bag of stones was brought in for him by the farmers. Some of these he sent to the museum in Montreal, and they have since been removed with the rest of the collection to Ottawa.
What was to him his greatest discovery, was made on the farm of James Glenn. It is supposed the famous blueberry marsh was once a lake. The centre of it is depressed, and the hard ground surrounding it shows signs of ripple marks in thin strata from an inch or less to three inches in thickness. In these the Doctor thought he saw the trunks of fallen trees of a tropical climate. ... He sent specimens ten feet high to Montreal, which were examined by experts and declared to be something, that translated means "first tracks", the tracks of some mammoth mollusc."
I believe that article describes the large specimen of Climactichnites collected by Mr. Richardson in 1859 that hung in Sir William Logan’s office and measured about 10 feet by 7 feet.
If Clyde Bell had framed his question "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by James Glenn?" or as "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township adjacent to the Blueberry Marsh was formerly owned by James Glenn at the time Dr. Wilson found the first specimens of Climactichnites?" perhaps he would have received the answer that a "James Glen" had owned such a farm on the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III.
I decided to test my belief that it was worth looking for a quarry on property that was owned after 1844 by James Glen that falls in the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III, Drummond Township where the Blueberry Marsh encroaches on the farm, and identified the most likely location using Google Satellite view. On a sunny, refreshing (minus 11 degrees Celsius) day in January I went for a hike to look for a quarry in the Blueberry Marsh and within a few minutes of arriving at the spot I had identified, found angular pieces of fine grained white sandstone and the side of what I believed to be an overgrown, moss encrusted, shallow quarry. The snow, ice, frozen moss and frozen ground made looking for specimens difficult, and I found none exhibiting Climactichnites or Protichnites. After a few warm days at the end of January had melted more of the snow, I went back on a frigid day in February to again visit the quarry and take additional photographs.
I should add that my wife accompanied me on my first visit to the quarry in late January. While I had asked four others whether they wanted to go for a hike in the Blueberry Marsh to look for a quarry, all of them were too busy, and a few were busy until April. And there wasn’t even that much snow on the ground.
Further visits to the quarry are planned with a number of geologists that have expressed an interest in visiting the quarry. I will post if we find the trace fossils of most interest.
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
[Addendum: April 26, 2023: I added the references to Getty and Hagadorn's paper.]
Reference
Getty, Patrick Ryan and James W. Hagadorn, 2008
Reinterpretation of Climactichnites Logan 1860 to Include Subsurface Burrows, and Erection of Musculopodus for Resting Traces of the Trailmaker. Journal of Paleontology Vol. 82, No. 6 (Nov., 2008), pp. 1161-1172
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