Arkansaurus
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"Arkansaurus fridayi" is the nomen nudum of a dinosaur that was discovered in Lockesburg, Arkansas. It is named for the state and its discoverer J. B. Friday, who found the dinosaur's fossilized foot on his farm in 1972. If genuine, they would be the only dinosaur remains ever found in Arkansas [1]. However, there is still some doubt about whether the bones that were found are in fact dinosaur bones, are from Arkansas, and exactly where they are located now.
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[edit] History
Friday found the bones while searching for a cow on his property. He donated the bones to the University of Arkansas. Dr. James H. Quinn, then a member of the University's Geology Department, prepared the bones and took them to a National Meeting of Vertebrate Paleontologists in Lincoln, Nebraska. Once there, the bones were examined by experts from both the US and Europe. They were declared to be the remains of an Ornithomimus, although if true, the bones would be the oldest remains ever found of this species.
Upon returning from the meeting, Dr. Quinn and Benjamin Clardy of the Arkansas Geological Commission went to the area on the Friday farm where the remains had been discovered, hoping to find more remains. The site was a pit that had been dug for road construction and the fossils had been taken from an Early Cretaceous deposit within. Unfortunately, all the scientists were able to find was a toe bone. They speculated that the bones had either been scattered when they were buried or during the road construction. In all there were three metatarsals, three phalanges, three claws and two vertebrae found of the "Arkansaurus".
Three casts of the bones were made. These casts were given to the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Geological Commission, and the Museum of Science and Natural History. The original bones currently reside at the University of Arkansas Museum Collections.
In 2003, "Arkansaurus" was written about in scientific literature. See reference notes.
[edit] Skepticism
Several facts surrounding "Arkansaurus" have led to strong speculation that it is possibly a hoax. These facts include:
- Mrs. Friday, wife of J.B. Friday, described the bones as being found in loose dirt, although chisel marks are clearly visible on the cast of the bones. It has been suggested that the chisel marks could have been added by Dr. Quinn, who was very experienced at creating fossil casts, for presentational purposes.
- The original bones found by J.B. Friday are housed at the University of Arkansas, in the museum collections (housed in the Arkansas Archaeological Survey building).
- The "Arkansaurus" was not properly described in scientific literature until 2003, and has been referred to by the state university, state museum, and state geological society by its genus, which is not considered proper in the scientific community.
- Ornithomimus, of which "Arkansaurus" is supposedly a specimen, has an ungual burr, while "Arkansaurus" does not. Also the metatarsals are improperly arranged when compared to other Ornithomimus remains. The remains of the "Arkansaurus" are most similar to bones found in Africa dating from the Jurassic period, and resemble several species from that place and time. However, no exact match has been found, but only very creative educated guesses.
- Around the same time the "Arkansaurus" was discovered, sitings of two other creatures -- The Fouke Monster and the White River Monster -- were also reported in Arkansas. It has been suggested that "Arkansaurus" could be just part of a trend of creature hoaxes going on in the state at the time; however this is highly speculative and most likely coincidental.
While there has been speculation of a hoax outside the field, it is well known to be a valid specimen to dinosaur researchers. In addition to ReBecca Hunt; Dan Chure (Dinosaur National Monument), J. McFarland (Arkansas Geological commission), and J. Kirkland (Utah State Paleontologist) have all examined the specimen. Kirkland considered it possibly a representative of Nedcolbertia. The name "Arkansaurus" has actually never been published in the scientific literature and is not considered a valid name. The "Ornithomimus problem" is not a problem at all as that diagnoses was made by an admitted non-specialist in the field and was a tentative assessment pending further examination. The lack of diagnosable material is what has made the study of the material limited, not any idea of a "hoax".
[edit] References
- Hunt, ReBecca K., 2003, An Early Cretaceous theropod foot from southwestern
Arkansas: Proceedings journal of the 2003 Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference, p. 87-103.
- Sattler, H.
"The Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary", Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, NY, 315 pp (1983)
