A LUCKY PALEONTOLOGIST & THE TALE OF THREE SPLENDID CANADIAN FOSSILS

Palaeontology Lecture Series — March 20, 2022

Join us for an exciting talk with Kirk Johnson — A Lucky Paleontologist & the Tale of Three Splendid Canadian Fossils. 

In this lecture, Kirk draws on his experience as a working paleontologist who has led expeditions in eighteen US states and eleven countries.

Kirk is a geologist, paleobotanist, and the Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. His research focuses on fossil plants and the extinction of the dinosaurs, and he is known for his scientific articles, popular books, museum exhibitions, documentaries, and collaborations with artists. 

His recent documentaries include “Making North America” (2015) and “Polar Extremes” (2019). His recent books include “Cruisin’ the Fossil Coastline: The Travels of an Artist and a Scientist along the Shores of the Prehistoric Pacific” (2018); “Visions of Lost Worlds, the Paleoart of Jay Matternes” (2019); and “Trees are made of Gas, The Story of Carbon and Climate” (2021). Johnson is originally from Bellevue, Washington. 

Fossil Road Trip? Heck, Yeah!

Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline

Who's up for a fossil road trip? Paleoartist Ray Troll and paleobotanist Kirk Johnson published a travelogue of their journey to check out the fossils of the American west called Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway. 

It is not your average paleo book. Filled with Troll's whimsical pop-art illustrations — how many dinosaur books feature sauropods crossing the road? — and Johnson's entertaining descriptions of their journey, the book is simultaneously entertaining and informative. 

The equally entertaining Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline is a must-read and will do you proud as an addition to your library.

To read Riley Black's article for the Smithsonian on Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway, visit: 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cruisin-the-fossil-freeway-59717763/

Fossil Talks & Field Trips — Palaeontology Lecture Series

To get the live Zoom link to Kirk Johnson's Free Lecture as part of the 2022 Palaeontology Lecture Series, visit: www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUBLISHED

In 1987, Wesley Wehr, a paleobotanist (and dear friend) who specialized in the fossil plants of the Okanagan Highlands of British Columbia and Republic, Washington published a paper with Jack Wolfe on Middle Eocene dicotyledonous plants from Republic. 

In it, they named a new species of early Eocene fossil linden leaf for Kirk Johnson, now Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, but then a young man with a keen eye for fossils. 

The species is Tilia johnsoni and it lives now at the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington.

Kirk had found the leaf at the corner lot fossil site in Republic, Washington and generously given it to Wehr and Wolfe. 

The duo named the specimen for Kirk both because of his generosity and because he was someone they much admired. Me, too!

Palaeontological Lecture Series:  

Kirk Johnson is one of the speakers we will be hosting via Zoom later this year. Visit www.fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com

In the early 2000s, Wes Wehr was working on his last book, The Accidental Collector: Art, Fossils, and Friendship. In it, he weaves together all of the polite mentions briefly noted in his published papers into their larger stories and contexts. His tale in meeting Kirk is included. 

Wes was an extraordinary human being and delightful orator who knew how to tell a good story. Ours were over dinner and in the field, cherished because they are now lost in time. He could thrill you with a tale or tidbit about art, history, music or fossils.  

Photo: A single leaf from the extinct Tilia johnsoni. 49 million years old, Klondike Mountain Formation, Republic, Washington. Stonerose Interpretive Center Collections; Kevmin.