Abstract
Here, we report a new ‘discovery’ of a desmostylian fossil in the geological collection at a national university in Japan. This fossil was unearthed over 60 years ago and donated to the university. Owing to the original hand-written note kept with the fossil in combination with interview investigation, we were able to reach two equally possible fossil sites in the town of Tsuchiyu Onsen, Fukushima. Through the interviews, we learned that the fossil was discovered during construction of a debris flow barrier and that it was recognized as a ‘dinosaur’ bone among the locals and displayed in the Village Hall before/until the town experienced a fire disaster in 1954. As scientific findings, the fossil was identified to be a right femur of Paleoparadoxia (Desmostylia), which shows well-preserved muscle scars on the surface. The age was estimated to be 15.9 Ma or younger in zircon-dating. This study shows an excellent case that historical and scientific significances could be extracted from long-forgotten uncatalogued specimens as long as the original information is retained with the specimens.
Highlights
Scientific ‘treasures’ are housed in museum collections with many specimens waiting to be catalogued and described
We report that a long-forgotten desmostylian fossil was uncovered from a museum cabinet, and that two possible locations were marked as the fossil locality based on the original hand-written note associated with the fossil and interview investigation
In the Arakawa river system, there are more than 35 sabo dams to trap debris flow caused by heavy rains
Summary
Scientific ‘treasures’ are housed in museum collections with many specimens waiting to be catalogued and described. Tsai et al [1] reported the unexpected discovery of the first pygmy right whale fossil from the Northern Hemisphere based on a collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. This specimen was collected from Okinawa, Japan in 1948 by the US Geological Survey and has been housed in the museum. They are only a few examples that evidence the value of museum collections, which could lead to unexpected discoveries. We report that a long-forgotten desmostylian fossil was uncovered from a museum cabinet, and that two possible locations were marked as the fossil locality based on the original hand-written note associated with the fossil and interview investigation
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