OJC to Display Locally-Found Fossil

By Almabeth Kaess

November 28, 2003

It was a hot day in August, and the fish weren't biting at Lake Henry near Ordway. Fourteen-year-old Jon Frazier put down his fishing pole and began to wonder around the lakeshore. From the time he was 2-years-old, young Frazier had been collecting bones and trying to reconstruct animals, so when he kicked up a few bones along the shore of the lake, he knew he had discovered some really old bones - and they did not belong to a cow. As the Fowler Junior High student and his family began to dig in the area, it became clear that they had unearthed an ancient fossil of major significance. The family contacted Bruce Schumacher, paleontologist for the USDA Forest Service, to take a look at their discovery. Upon examination of the fossil, Schumacher revealed to the young paleontologist that what he had discovered was an 85 million-year old mosasuar.

According to Schumacher, the estimated size of the ancient marine reptile is about 40 feet long, with the lower jaw measuring about 5 feet in length. "The mosasuar was at the top of the food chain. His lower jaw unhinged, giving him a closer relationship to snakes than to alligators. His vertebrae extended to the end of a powerful tail that was used to propel him through the water. Flippers along the side of his body helped the creature to navigate direction. The deadliest part of this animal; however, was an enormous jaw, equipped with a full set of puncturing teeth," explained Schumacher.

Called in to help excavate the fossil site was Jim Herrell, Associate Dean of Instruction at Otero Junior College. Herrell is an experienced amateur paleontologist who has been involved in numerous dinosaur digs in the canyon lands south of La Junta. As the site - now officially named The Frazier Site - was being prepared for excavation, a couple of questions were raised, "Who owns this fossil, and what is to be done with it once it has been excavated?" Throughout his years of digging for dinosaurs, Herrell had seen several locally-discovered fossils transported out of the area to large museums, miles away from the Arkansas Valley. "The discovery of this mosasaur was coincidental, because 25 years ago, a former OJC instructor, Galen Baker, was also involved in the discovery of a mosasaur, in this same area of Crowley County. That mosasaur was collected and sent to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Now that a second mosasaur had been discovered, I thought it was important that we attempt to keep the fossil in the local area," said Herrell. Herrell contacted the Lake Henry Reservoir Company, owners of the site where the fossil was found, and was pleased that they were willing to donate the fossil to Otero Junior College.

The jaw of the mosasaur, along with numerous vertebrae, were excavated and are now located at the college. Herrell, Schumacher, and others are in the process of cleaning the fossils and preparing them for display. Once completed, the fossils are expected to be put on display sometime in January, in Wheeler Hall at the college. The college will share the prepared version of the fossil with the Crowley County Historical Society and Museum.

According to Herrell, the college's involvement with serving as protector and custodian of the fossil, may be the first step to what he hopes will result in future repository status for the college. "The local area is rich in natural historical resources. If OJC can begin to develop a way to house and care for these discoveries, we will be able to provide the area communities with another wonderful educational resource," said Herrell.

For more information about mosasuars visit the Internet at: www.oceansofkansas.com.