missouri's dinosaur

Spring 2008 www.fantasticcaverns.com of 6

Missouri’s Dinosaur

Bollinger County, Missouri

In 1942 Dan Stewart, a geologist with the Missouri Geological Survey, wandered through the hills near Glenallen, Mo. Here he met young

Ollie Cronister who told him about some unusual bones his family had found while digging a cistern \'sis-tern\. Mr. Stewart borrowed a few bones from the Cronister family and sent them to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, for identification. They were first proclaimed to be a new

creature, but later determined to be a duck-billed hadrosaur. The Journal of Paleontology \pa-le-än-'täl-e-je\ story that followed eventually caught the attention of Bruce Stinchcomb, a geology professor at St. Louis Community College-Florissant. In 1987 he began digging in and around the Cronister’s well in search of more fossils. According to Mr. Stinchcomb, “It’s the only known dinosaur site anywhere in this part of the country. The nearest occurrence of dinosaurs is about 1000 miles away.” The Cronister site, located in rural Bollinger County (southeast Missouri) was purchased by Mr. Stinchcomb and, in 1999 the Missouri Dinosaur Project began in earnest. So far, the careful examination of the dig has yielded bones from at least three different dinosaurs at the site. Teams of volunteers have added 21 vertebrae to 13 duckbill backbones originally found in 1942.

They’ve also discovered a tooth from a velociraptor and another from some sort of tyrannosaur. Additionally, the dig has turned up pieces and parts of prehistoric turtles and crocodiles. What they have not found is a skull to help identify exactly what they have or, for that matter, a complete skeleton like those that make national headlines. Despite the lack of a complete skeleton, Missouri’s dinosaur is big news to paleontologist because it expands the range of the centuries ...back to a time when ocean waves lapped against the shore only 20 miles from the Cronister location. It’s also big news for the surrounding communities that embrace Missouri’s Dinosaur as their own. Editor’s note: Story content and photography contributed by Bob McEowen, Field Editor for Rural Missouri, Jefferson City, MO.

Paleontologist Guy Darrough and his crew of volunteers remove clay deposits from the Missouri dinosaur excavation

site near Glenallen.

Guy Darrough displays dinosaur bones found at the site near Glenallen.

The bones belonged to a duckbilled dinosaur called

hypsibema.

The crinoid (from Guy Darrough’s collection) is the Missouri state fossil.

http://www.fantasticcaverns.com

Spring 2008 OZARK ADVENTURE


Bats need clean water too! By Cullen Geiselman

How can mammals which spend their nights flying through the air and their days sleeping in caves, old barns, or tree hollows be affected by water pollution? Like other animals bats must drink water every night. However, they have the added challenge of drinking “on the wing” (while in flight). Bats can become sick or die if they drink water that has been contaminated by pesticide or fertilizer run-off from farms, golf courses, or lawns. Since most bats cover large distances in a night, it is often hard to determine exactly where poisoned bats drank from polluted water sources. The Ozarks are home to fifteen species of bats, which are all insectivorous, meaning that they eat insects. Some of their favorite snacks are moths, beetles, mayflies, and mosquitoes. Many of these insects hatch out of water. Run-off of pesticides, fertilizers, other pollutants, and soil can change the aquatic habitat so that the numbers and types of insects become very low, leaving bats hungry. When situations like this

occur, many bats will be forced to move out of an area because there is not enough for them to eat every night. In order to protect water resources

for bats, people should consider using fewer chemicals and maintaining trees and other ground cover, especially in areas surrounding streams, rivers, and lakes, so that dirt does not erode into our waterways.

Farmers are learning that bats can be good neighbors. Farmers want to decrease insect pests on their crops and bats want to eat up some of these same insects. It’s a win-win solution! However, when farmers count on pesticides instead of bats, there can be problems. When bats eat insects that have been sprayed by pesticides it can cause them to become sick or die. Then, not only do bats lose, but so do farmers since fewer bats means more pests on the crops and more expensive applications of pesticides. Farmers can encourage bats to stay near their farms by building bat houses, keeping water resources clean, and reducing the use of pesticides. It is far better to work with nature than against it. You can help keep water resources clean for bats, other wildlife, and humans by encouraging fewer pesticides, by disposing of garbage and other waste products in the appropriate places, and by teaching a friend or neighbor to do the same. After all, we all share water resources.

To learn more about bats, visit Bat Conservation International’s web site at www.batcon.org or write to Bat Conservation International, Inc., P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716. Editor’s Note: Cullen Geiselman is the Education Programs Assistant with Bat Conservation International in Austin, TX.

Gray Bat in Flight

Townsend’s big-eared bat drinking in flight.

Bat Conservation International Magazine

Eastern pipistrelle hibernating.


http://www.batcon.org



Bats of the Ozarks

Rafinesque’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii)*

Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii)

Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris

noctivagans)

Red bat (Lasiurus borealis)

Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus)

Seminole bat (Lasiurus seminolus)

Southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius)

*Gray myotis (Myotis grisescens)

Small-footed myotis (Myotis leibii)

Little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus)

Northern long-eared myotis (Myotis septentrionalis)

*Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis)

Evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis)

Eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus)

* - an endangered species




_________________________________________________ 2008 - SUMMER DISCOVERY

The All-New 2008 Summer Discovery Program will allow students to experience a time when Native American children learned, played and lived. This 90-minute, special educational program is designed to meet classroom instructional goals. It includes a visit to the outdoor classroom (near the cave entrance) and the all-riding educational cave tour. Visiting student groups will participate in a simulated archeological dig, excavating and identifying artifacts once used by Native Americans, both before and after the arrival of settlers and explorers. Students will also take part in a variety of Native American games. Some are familiar, while others will seem new. Native American children played games for fun, and to develop skills and training useful for hunting, stalking, weapon use, fitness, agility and powers of observation…all necessary skills needed to grow up in their culture. Summer Discovery is a special tour available at 10 AM and noon every day from June 1 through November 26, 2008.

On-Line Caving

Many cave resources may be now accessed via the Internet. The Fantastic Caverns web site (www.fantasticcaverns.com) provides photo-graphy of the caverns and the animals that live there, cave research materials, the current and past issue of Ozark Adventure, and links to other cave related sites. Another interesting site is the American Cave Museum (www.cavern.org) that

features studies and activities about caves, karst, cave life and groundwater. While the museum is located in Horse Cave, Kentucky, the Internet brings it right into your classroom. Two web

sites that will provide links to many other cave & karst sources are: the National Caves Association at www.cavern.com or the Missouri Caves Association at www.missouricaves.com.

Keep Us Posted! If your class or school has a science project that involves caves, cave life

springs, water quality or springs, please tell us about it. We may

feature your work in an upcoming issue of Ozark Adventure.

You can reach us at:

Fantastic Caverns Science Research Program

4872 N. Farm Road 125 Springfield, MO 65803


www.cavern.org

www.cavern.com

www.missouricaves.com




Students are important

to Fantastic Caverns.

This issue of Ozark

Adventure is sent to

over 70,000 students

here in the Ozarks.

This is a big job for a

small family business.

Understanding caves

and springs is

important...Taking care

of them will keep the

Ozarks a wonderful

place to live and visit.

This magazine is

sponsored by the Fantastic

Caverns Science Research

Program.

Treasure Found In High Desert Cave

What comes to mind when you think about "treasure"? Gold? Jewels? Art? For archaeologist Bryan Hockett it was something completely different. Hockett, an archaeologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), finds great reward in old bones. In 1996, the BLM began work testing animal remains found in a cave located in the Sulphur Springs Range in northern Nevada.

The cave is a classic example of a place where carnivores (kar-ne-vors) dragged their prey to be eaten. The bones are scattered and many of the bones have tooth marks on them; probably those of a pre-historic bobcat. There is no evidence of human consumption. The study has identified lots of different kinds of bones...Everything from tiny birds to giant raptors; from pre-historic llamas and bison to cheetahs, horses, camels and marmots. Some of the remains have been carbon-dated to over 50,000 years ago.

The animals are all extinct today. According to Hockett, there are several possible reasons for this: humans hunted them to extinction; changing climate doomed them, or a combination of both. This area of northern Nevada used to be much cooler and wetter than it is today. This climate would support the large number of hoofed animals found in the area. Another surprise is the wonderful condition of the remains. Not just bones, but hair, plant

fossils, leaves and bark are incredibly well preserved. This is because of where they were found...Caves make great cold storage lockers. The cave temperature is 40 degrees with 98 percent humidity, Hockett said. "That's just about what your refrigerator is, so these bones have been sitting is a refrigerator for thousands of years." This is why caves have been a part of many archaeological and paleontological finds throughout modern times. They are simply very good places to preserve bones, artifacts and other important clues to our past.

For more information and pictures about this incredible find, visit the BLM web site at www.nv.blm.gov and click on the field offices icon. The site is being managed out of the Elko, Nevada office. (Source: USBLM, Elko Daily Free Press, 4/27/99)

http://www.nv.blm.gov




SPRING 2008 WORD SEARCH Vocabulary Words

T O R S G E K A R S T L E D Z P D T TD T Y N I R U O S S I M X T H I E V DK L J N A I N O S H T I M S N N M O KR E Z G M L I V M R A P T O R N Y L RK T N T A E Q E V A C P S E D O G U KY P L T H X P T L S Y A T R E I O N YH D R T U L N S K P U N K R S T L T HZ R H Y C C E K G R I R B N E U O E ZD K E T T N K N R I Z Y L K R L E E DW L Y S O W I Y L N B R S T T L G R WN I M B O O F T L G P S K C Q O Q E NK N R U B U T Q X T K D R V C P E R KN K L C E C R R C E Y M A T L M C U NS S W X E S E C L L A N Z D H M N S ST L M J T T U E E M U F O V L V E A TA W O L S T T M M S Q E N W P R I E AB R T A B O Q A L G X R E T A W C R BP H W J N Z L M O K E G V K T M S T PT O R S G E K A R S T L E D Z P D T T

BATS GEOLOGY MUSEUM SKELETON BONES INTERNET OZARKS SMITHSONIAN CAVE KARST POLLUTION SPRING CLUE KENTUCKY PROJECT TOOTH DESERT LINKS RAPTOR TREASURE DINOSAUR MAMMAL RESOURCES WASTE EAT MISSOURI SCIENCE WATER EXTINCT VOLUNTEER


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