Lisa Cormier was taking a walk in Cape Egmont on Monday afternoon when she spotted something unusual partially buried on the shore. “I saw what I thought was a root,” he said. “And when I looked closer, I realized there were ribs. And then I saw the spine and the skull.” Cormier took pictures of her find to share with her family. Her mother-in-law sent them to Laura McNeill of Prehistoric Island Tours. McNeill immediately contacted Cormier, as well as other experts. John Calder, geologist and paleontologist, was one of them. He said the fossil appears to be near the end of the Carboniferous period and the Permian period. This is about 300 million years ago. The fossil appears to be 300 million years old. (Submitted by Laura MacNeill) Calder, who has written a book on PEI’s geological heritage, said a find like this is “extremely rare”. “A fossil like this comes along every 50 or 100 years,” he said. “I mean there’s no real frequency, but it’s rare. And this could be a one-of-a-kind fossil in the tree of life … of amphibian, reptile, mammal evolution for us.” The fossil has not been identified, but Calder said it is likely a reptile, or at least a very close relative. “This is at the beginning of the evolution of reptiles from amphibians and branching out,” he said. “And so it’s going to be a real puzzle. It’s probably going to take a good while to figure out the identity of this thing.” He said very few specimens have been discovered since that time and it could even be a previously unknown species. An excavation team that included Matt Stimson, Patrick Brunet and Linda Berko raced against the incoming tide. (Submitted by John Calder) An excavation team that included Matt Stimson, Patrick Brunet and Linda Berko was able to dig it up after a few days of work. On Saturday, Parks Canada staff carefully moved the fossil from its discovery site to a facility in Greenwich that serves as a paleontological repository. Calder said it won’t be there for long as it needs to be taken to a paleontology lab for experts to look at. “They will probably use a CT scan,” he said.
On alert
He said fossils like the one on PEI have become more common in the past couple of years. He advised the islanders to keep their eyes open. “There are far more everyday people out there walking the beaches than paleontologists, and most of these important discoveries are not made by scientists,” he said. Cormier said the find is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave some kind of legacy in the history of science. “To think that I’ve found something that could be 300 million years old, it’s incredible,” he said. “I think it will be one time [thing]but I’ll keep walking and keep looking for sea glass and maybe I’ll find something else.”
