Ancient crocodile swim traces found in Tumbler Ridge half a decade ago continue to contribute to global research of the reptiles, says paleontologist Dr. Charles Helm, who’s currently working on a research paper about the 'living fossil
Ancient crocodile swim traces found in Tumbler Ridge half a decade ago continue to contribute to global research of the reptiles, says paleontologist Dr. Charles Helm, who’s currently working on a research paper about the 'living fossil' species.
Helm is a founding member of the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation, contributing to numerous fossil discoveries in the area, from crocodile and dinosaur tracks, to fish fossils, marine reptile fossils, and more.
The crocodile swim traces are believed to be 112 million years old.
“To me, these are the finest examples of that kind of crocodile swim trace that I’ve seen, and they’re very impressive,” said Helm. "Mostly they’re impressions of the claws or the tips of the toes, but there are two or three tail drag impressions as well."
Helm said the swim traces were used to identify similar swim traces found on the shores of South Africa in 2018, due to their highly distinguishable features and superior preservation.
“They’re the first ever swim traces to be described in Africa, and it’s thanks to what we found here,” said Helm of the Cretaceous-era crocs.
The Tumbler Ridge area and Northern BC remain rich in track ways but poor in bones – a stark contrast to the bone-rich badlands of Alberta, says Helm.
“We are depending almost entirely on tracks and traces, rather than bones, and that’s fai