That interest was further sparked by teacher Lisa Cormier’s discovery last month of an extremely rare fossil of what was believed to be a reptile or a very close relative. “Certainly, fossil finds are really increasing on PEI, especially by everyday people,” says John Calder, a Nova Scotia-based geologist who is under contract with the PEI government to help identify finds on the island. He is a professor of geology at Saint Mary’s University and interim executive director of the UNESCO Cliffs of Fundy Geopark. He is also the author of Island at the Center of the World: The Geological Heritage of Prince Edward Island. “I’m really happy that there is this explosion of discovery in Prince Edward Island,” he said, adding that inquiries from the public in recent years have increased from about five a year to five a week.
Think you’ve found a fossil?
If you think you’ve found a fossil on PEI, Calder said you should follow these steps:
Take photos of your find, including a common object such as a pen, key or gutter to show how large it is in comparison. Mark the exact location using your smart phone to drop a pin on Google Maps where you are standing. Contact the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation at (782) 772-2796 or [email protected] They will contact Calder, who will respond to you. He may ask for more photos or come see your find. If the object you think is a fossil is in PEI National Park, call 1-877-852-3100.
“It’s not always fossils. What you should look for is an unusual pattern in the rocks,” Calder said, noting that the most common fossils found on the island are footprints and plant parts. “Fossils aren’t common everywhere, but in PEI, it becomes a really rich trove of early reptile and amphibian footprints,” he said. “I’m excited and looking forward to what the people with a higher pay grade than me decide what we’re going to do with this great heritage that we have on Prince Edward Island,” says Dr. John Calder, PEI’s contract geologist. government to locate fossils. (Randy McAndrew/CBC) Of the hundreds of fossil finds reported each year on PEI, Calder said two or three are truly special and a few each month are remarkable.
“One of the few places in the world” that studies this period
“PEI is going to be known as a real paleontological hot spot, whereas not too long ago it was thought to be a place where there was nothing geological except sand dunes,” he said. “It’s becoming known internationally with researchers, especially researchers in a field we call vertebrate paleontology — so these are fossils of things with backbones.” Given the province’s rich store of fossilized bones as well as footprints, he said he looks forward to the day the province hires its own paleontologist to help examine them. This fossilized footprint of a Dimetrodon was found in PEI National Park by PEI geologist Laura MacNeil in 2018. (Jane Robertson/CBC) Back in 290 million BC, when the continents of the world as we know them were now converging into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea, PEI was right near the center, on the equator. It was the Permian period, millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. PEI’s fossils are extraordinary, Calder said, because they give us a glimpse of life forms during this critical period — “a window into this chapter of evolution that is unique in Canada and one of the few in the world.” . Calder said the growing discoveries aren’t just interesting and cool. they are also scientifically important. “PEI has this very amazing and unusual snapshot of life on our planet on land about 295 to 300 million years ago,” he said.
What should I look for?
Not every finding is unique or even significant, Calder said — but it can be. That’s why he encourages people to report all their findings.
You might come across something as humble as fossilized worm tracks or twigs or bark from ancient conifers or ferns.
Laura MacNeil created this map to show where the land that has become Prince Edward Island fits into Pangaea (sometimes spelled Pangaea) back in the Permian world. (Laura MacNeil/Prehistoric Island Tours)
Fossils that Calder and his colleagues consider important, such as Cormier’s recent find, are excavated and stored. These are museum quality finds that could be unique or the best example of a particular thing.
“It could indicate a new branch on the tree of life, in our understanding of the evolution of life that goes from reptiles eventually to us,” he said. “These are circuit breakers for the evolution of life happening right now that PEI represents.
“I’m conflicted just thinking about it.”
The history of fossils in PEI will continue to become more important, more fascinating and more beautiful.— John Calder
Other fossils considered less important should be listed and recorded, but can usually be kept by the finders. Calder still has the first fossil he found in NS when he was nine years old.
As more oceanfront rocks are exposed due to coastal erosion, PEI’s prehistoric past is being revealed layer by layer, and Calder said most of the fossils are found on beaches. Others have been found in farmers’ fields, where it is common to discover pieces of petrified wood.
Some fossils are impossible to remove from where they were discovered, but it’s still important to document them, he said.
The air-conditioned room where the fossils found in the PEI National Park are kept, at the Greenwich Interpretive Centre. (Jane Robertson/CBC)
Calder would like to see PEI build a natural history museum to preserve, display and interpret its fossils. He believes it would be a big draw for visitors given the growth of geotourism, in which people travel long distances to see natural wonders.
“We have a real story to tell,” he said. “I’m excited and looking forward to what people with a higher salary than me decide what we’re going to do with this great legacy we have in Prince Edward Island.”
