Victoria Geodiversity Fest will be hosted by the Royal BC Museum, a belated celebration of International Geodiversity Day. VicPS will participate again this year, sharing a portion of our Society fossil collection (aka ‘Education Kit’) with the public to promote the wonderful heritage below our feet here in BC. Volunteer to help staff the event or come see the public education face of VicPS. Save the date.
Details have now been sent to members, with the advice: bring your rain gear!
When: 8:00AM, Sunday, October 19, 2025
Travel: Victoria members meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 8AM to arrange carpooling. ‘Up Islanders’ meet at Old Farm Market south of Duncan at 9AM. Nanaimo folks meet us onsite.
Please RSVP to vicpalaeo@gmail.com and indicate which meeting place you’ve chosen.
At this next meeting, our VicPS vice-chair Sandy M. S. McLachlan will speak to his paper “Additions and revisions to the inflated Pachydiscidae from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) strata of Denman and Hornby islands, British Columbia, Canada; taxonomic implications and insights into mode of life.”
Sandy’s pachydiscid study, published in Journal of Paleontology, 1–2, is open access and can be read at: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2025.10105. An introductory guide to ammonite terminology (in final draft) will be shared prior to the Oct. 8th presentation to assist newer members with scientific terminology.
This paper, which is a study of a group of conservative ammonites from the Late Cretaceous that lived approximately 90–66 million years ago, allows for greater refinement of age placement and paleoecological interpretations. Over 100 specimens were examined from the Nanaimo Group rocks among the Gulf Islands of southern British Columbia in the eastern North Pacific. A reappraisal of this group addresses the range of variation within several forms, proposes a consistent framework of diagnostic characters, and sees the erection of a new species with description of the full development from juvenile to adult. Exclusive death assemblages of the new species support the inference of a gregarious mode of early life.
The meeting is in-person and on-line.
Physical Address:
Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd. (office of Ed Davies, Paleontologist and VicPS member)
This unusual find from the motocross site in Nanaimo is about the size, shape, and texture of a fish jaw (unconfirmed). Congratulations to the member who found this unusual specimen!
Another noteworthy find from that location is the crab Bicornis-ranina bocki, named in 2008 by Torrey Nyborg and John Fam (in honour of Nanaimo collector Peter Bock). Previously described from Northwest Bay locality and Inland Island Highway roadcut near Courtenay, this is perhaps the third known example from the motocross site in Nanaimo, which is older in age than the exposures at Northwest Bay. Again, congratulations to the member who found this well-preserved specimen.
Speaking of crabs, congratulations to Caleb Cliffold-Hoyle, who found this raninid specimen (below) at Northwest Bay. The specimen is thought to be a Joerinina (platys?). We will know for sure soon; this specimen is currently under study by Torrey Nyborg and John Fam and will contribute to a pending paper. It’s wonderful when our discoveries have an immediate and direct impact on science and research!
Be on the look-out for scallop shells about a size of a fingernail. The one pictured here was found at Chemainus River in 2023 during the 14th BCPA Symposium fieldtrip. BCPA member Raymond Graham is seeking photos and locality information for these specimens, which are similar to ones found in Northern California described as belonging to Propeamussium (Parvamusseum)spp.by Sundberg in 1989. If you are not familiar with Raymond, reach out to me, and I’ll put you in touch with him.
Some topics suggested for upcoming meetings include geology of different regions on the Island, biostratigraphic use of fossils, evolution of paleontology, and mollusc terminology. VicPS member Sandy McLachlan will give a talk in October about inflated ammonites from the upper Nanaimo Group rocks. Stay tuned for more information.
Members should check their email to find details for our fieldtrip this weekend. Please note the early start time (7:50AM) if you are leaving from Helmcken Park & Ride in Victoria.
We will rendezvous with up island members at the Co-op at 4A Alberni Highway at 10:00AM. We will make a special stop in Duncan if anyone wants to carpool from there.
The 33rd Annual Canadian Paleontology Conference (CPC 2025) will be held virtually on November 21–22, 2025.
This free, two-day online event will feature a program of both talks and postershighlighting the latest paleontological research from across Canada and beyond. Whether you’re an early career researcher, seasoned professional, or passionate enthusiast, CPC 2025 is a fantastic opportunity to share your work, connect with colleagues, and celebrate paleontology in all its forms!
At this VicPS Quarterly Executive Meeting, your Society executive do the EXCITING work required to operate VicPS: manage the money, decide where to focus our energies for the coming year in ways they support the Society mandate, etc.
For full transparency, these meetings are open to any Society member who wants to attend and observe. A reminder notice will be sent in advance, and notes are shared with members following the meeting.
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon preserves an amazing and colourful sequence of interbedded volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, with dramatic stratigraphy including flood basalts. The fossils preserved there range from the middle Eocene rainforest faunas and floras of the Clarno Formation Nut Beds (44 Ma) and the Hancock Mammal Quarry (40 Ma), the Bridge Creek Flora (33 Ma) and the Turtle Cove Unit of the John Day Formation (29 Ma), the Mascall Assemblage (15 Ma) and the Rattlesnake Assemblage (7 Ma).
Recent work in the Turtle Cove Unit has yielded remains of two enigmatic insectivorous mammals, Cryptoryctes and Micropternodus.
We are grateful and excited to have a NEW MEETING SPACE!
Paleontologist Edward Davies, Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd., has offered his office for us to gather monthly, share our fieldtrip finds, do research, and enjoy speakers. Next Wednesday, our first meeting of the fall, I will review our activities over the summer, including the very successful 15th BCPA Symposium, followed by a review of specimens found on our summer fieldtrips.
Please join us in person and bring those specimens! We will also discuss how we want to use our monthly meeting time over the coming year.
The address is 2680 Seaview Road, Victoria, BC. Park in the driveway, or on street if the driveway is full.
For those who cannot join in person, we will link you in via Zoom and do our best to share specimens on screen.
ZOOM LINK: Paid members will have received this in an email. Please look there for details.
