Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-22
NATIONAL MUSEUM
RECEIVES BONES
OF GIANT ANIMALS
Brought Back by Dr.. GidIey
After Summers Work in
Snake River Valley.
BURIED IN SANDS
ABOVE LAVA FLOOR
Collection includes Musk Oxen
and Several Species Probably
Unknown to Science.


Nearly three tons of bones of giar
creatures which roamed over the West
ern United States about 100000
years ago have just been brought back
to the National Museum by DR.. James
w. Gidley of the department of verte-
brate paleontology after a Summers
work in the Snake River Valley of Gen.
trail Idaho.
These fossils, DR.. Gidley explained
are all mammals who thrived in the geo.
logical era just preceding the present,
when the climate of the country was
strikingly different. He found the re-
mains of a strange medley Of animals
buried in the sand above floor of lava
showing that they existed after the last
great volcanic eruption in that part OF
the Rocky Mountain area.
Giant musk oxen, whose relatives to-
day are found only on the tundra above
the Arctic Circle, mingled with ele-
plants and camelS, now tropical ami
mails. The collection probably contains
several species hitherto unknown to
science.
Musk Oxen Much Larger.
The musk oxen of that day, DR.. Gid
ley said, were nearly twice as large as
those now found in the Arctic, which
have declined in size, due to their harsh
environment The disappearance of the
stronger creatures in a land OF COM
parative plenty while their relatives in
the Far North lived on, he explains, Is
an interesting example of the adoption
- f@ re
smaller animal, which had developed a
thick coat of fur and an appetite for
the lichens Of the Arctic tundras, was
able to adjust itself to its living con-
ditionS while its CANT relative, probably
not so well protected and requiring more
food, was unable to survive severe CHI
matte changes.
Great herds Of buffalo probably
roamed the Western plains in those
days, but they were much larger crea-
lures than the bison of today, with far
longer horns. They were not ancestors
Of the present bison, DR.. Gidley says,
but must have represented a collateral
branch, since they were more specialized
in structure. The animal whose body
Ii intricately adapted structurally to live
in a certain environment, ne points out,
never can be considered the ancestor
Of q similar animal which is not SO
families, say National Museum paleon-
tologists, is to become more and more
adjusted to certain living conditions, so
that they can survive IN them with
minimum Of effort and hardship. But
the better they become adjusted to one
set of conditions the more they depend
upon them. They seldom can endure
a change and die in the effort to ad-
Just themselves to different climate or
different food.
Find Elephant Bones.
DR.. Gidley found bones of both the
mastodon, a giant relative Of the ele-
plant, and of the mammoth, which was
a true elephant Museum collectors
have hunted for years to secure enough
bones of the mammoth to reconstruct
specimen for exhibition here. COM
plete specimen never has been found
and it Is necessary to pick up the bones
piece by piece. The great elephants,
large numbers all over the United
States. and may even have been CO.
temporaries Of the earliest men, but the
skeletons disintegrated rapidly.
Among other bones found, besides
those of camels and near relatives OF
creatures now existing in North Amer
lea, were those Of a strange animal, the
megolanyx, whose nearest relative is the
sloth Of South America. The paleozoic
creature, however, was much larger,
lived entirely on the ground, and prob
ably presented a much more frightful
appearance.
In excavating these ancient lava beds
DR.. Gidley kept a close watch for evil
dences Of early man to supplement those
he found in Florida three years ago
and which precipitated long scientific
controversy. The only human artifacts
he found in Idaho were far advanced
and probably do not date much beyond
historic times.
The Snake River Valley, DR.. Gidley's
excavations showed, has been covered
with two great volcanic eruptions. Each
lava flow has been covered in the course
OF centuries by drifting sand, giving a
sort of sandwich effect. Only a few
mammal bones were found between the
two lava sheets, but on top Of the last
one there was a great wealth of them
The country probably has been well wa
tered for millions of years and would
form a natural congregating place fol
great herds of grazing animals, such al
those In the collection.
Ice Destroyed Pastures.
The period represented by these ami.
mails came before the last ice age, which
swept over InuCn OIL NOTIn EAuerlCd
when the climate in the Northern United
States was much warmer, and the
creatures probably did not become ex-
tinct until the advancing ice destroyed
their pastures. Then the larger ami
mails died off over the course Of cen.
turtles, leaving the country to theil
smaller and weaker relatives better
adapted to endure the long years o.
scant pasturage. Much the same is sup.
posed to have happened millions OF
years earlier still when the giant rep
tiles, which were abundant in the same
area Of North America, died off in favor
of the tiny mammals and birds.
Z The bones collected by DR.. Gidley vii
be cleaned and unpacked during thu
Winter and those which can be recon
Structed into complete skeletons may bl
used as exhibits. Others will be useC
to patch up nearly complete skeletons
obtained by other expeditions Although
much later in time, it is explained, thu
age of the giant mammals in NORTH
America is not so well represented b,
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