New Discoveries from the El Pueblo Facies 

As 2024 arrives the El Pueblo ichnotelmafacies will probably yield some new fossils. Do important discoveries await fossil seekers in general? In my opinion there is an unlimited number of fossils waiting to be found. Take the fossil record in New Mexico, for example. Although New Mexico is very rich in fossils and fossil discoveries many fossils are still missing. Take the early bird fossils, for example. Or the very first mammals which most paleontologists affirm were small and of an unobtrusive nature. Remember that unless both of the above fossils sank into or were covered with limy mud (before being devoured by carnivores), intact fossilization did not occur. In the first place the unobtrusive and hideable nature of first mammals enabled them to survive. Of course, different types of fossils exist in their respective ecological site of existence and in the proper geological age exposure. A geological column such as the one where I investigate can be deep. The distended El Pueblo facies geological column (although mostly detrital) ranges from the Mississippian to the Triassic Period. Thanks to the great erosive phase of a long time ago a few windows of exposure exist.  A friend mentioned the other day that in a creek which apparently runs through her land there is a jumble of fossils that she finds difficult  to group into different ages. That creek, because of tributaries, past burials, and exposures, probably contains a mixup of different ages and, possibly, a few undiscovered or rare fossils. 

If I find any new fossils in the El Pueblo facies (I must be glued to that place), I will keep you posted on this new post. My original post blog, Exceptional Early Permian Footprints (which I can no longer add to) is one long post at the verge of freezing. I might have to edit for more concise text. As to new finds, In a setting with a geological age before the existence of birds, first-bird fossils are probably out of the question. Yet we can keep in mind what I call the historical biological column. In other words, based on the birds and other wildlife around us fossils of later Periods exist, even if they are rarely found, and only by accident. Finding evidence of first mammals is also a long shot. How to tell a first mammal by its footprints remains an open question. What about fairly large tetrapod eggs in a nest along a flowway? Most of the time the egg would have baked in a UV-ridden sunlight that was so hot that animals evolved pebbly, sun-deflective skin. A calcium-deficient egg is soft, like an embryonic bag. That was the norm for in-water reproduction during the Pennsylvanian and almost to the Triassic. Although some eggs had a thicker shell, most were deposited and hatched submerged or half submerged in a shallow hatching zone. Climate was a very important determinant of early reproduction. As the climate changed in the American continent (enroute from equatorial Pangea toward its present location) many biological transformations occurred, creating great changes in the fossil record. One of those changes involved a more temperate climate where an egg did not freeze in winter nor cook in the hot sun. That is precisely the reason why places like Argentina became a last bastion for giant Brontosaurus herbivores. Other places simply became unsuitable for the sustenance of large dinosaurs.  An important factor that affected early life profoundly is the change from soft-vegetable-like leaves to carbon-intensive (pitch-sealed) foliage such as pine trees that quickly deprived many herbivores of needed nutriment. Lively, thriving dinosaurs in pine forests...not a realistic scenario. Large dinosaur-die-off bone beds with traces of undigested pine leaves, that is a reality (Henry Ortiz, 10/2023). 

A Small Trackway With a Brushy Tail-drag

Photo pending

The unknown continues to surface at the El Pueblo ichnotelmafacies. What type of tetrapod left its usual pes and manus step-traces but a brushy tail drag? Was there fur or hairs on its tail or did this small tetrapod possess a wide beaver-like tail. I like that latter theory but we will never know for sure (Henry Ortiz, 2-3-2024).

Dimetrodon elpueblus' Three Ichnological 

Facets in a Single Fossil

How cool is that? This is the latest discovery from the El Pueblo facies. For years I have been presenting all three facets, mostly separately, of Dimetrodon elpueblus footprints to my readers. These three facets are claw-tip impressions, long-claw impressions and a three (sometimes four-lobe) indentation, each in both a concave or a convex form. A few times I asked myself what if these three ichnological facets are not related? Lo and behold Dimetrodon's memory delivered a conclusive yes, all three facets are related (the past is alive, after all). The five claw-point marks on right reflect Dimetrodon elpueblus manus in a downward position as it merely staked the surface. The long claw marks in the middle represent a plantigrade footprint which then changed to that peculiar triple-lobe impression which then swiveled to the left. The swivel of one manus allowed a side step by the opposite manus, enabling a quick turn during a chase. That peculiar move is the one Dimetrodon elpueblus is famous for. That triple lobe impression, made before swiveling the manus to the left, was just that: A means of swiveling the foot without lifting it and without the long claws impeding the swivel in the muddy substrates of the Pennsylvanian and early Permian Period. Let's face it, Dimetrodon elpueblus was exceedingly light on its feet as he or she twisted and turned during the chase of small prey in shallow water. 

     That's what most fossils represent, the mechanics of predation or the vegetation and herbivores that also became prey. Many herbivores were well equipped to dispatch predators and often did. As a defense a few poisonous plants and trees have always existed. Nonetheless, it is the bygone character of fossils (the carnage we strive to ignore) that hold an allure for many people—of a world long gone, with different plants and trees and animals as well as different climates (Henry Ortiz, 10/2023).

 Tambachichnium elpueblus Standing in 

Perfect Out-toe position?

Each footprint 3.5 inches long, about young adult size.

I refused to believe it. Few Animals have that degree of limb radius. With no offense to Tambachichnium, these are two underwater Tambachichnium footprints that were separately impressed in soft mud while swimming. The two footprints are in perfect alignment but another footprint to the right tells us these are three different footprints. Nonetheless, now we know that Tambachicnium (who could attain a bipedal posture) was an agile swimmer who was also light on his feet (this guy deserves the personative reference) and like other swimming tetrapods his hunting style involved spooking bottom-feeding game into open water for the kill. Yes indeed, it was a savage world (Henry Ortiz, 10/2023). 

The Four-digit Amphimander of the 

El Pueblo Swamp

Adult size footprints

Infant footprints on same slab

Frogamanders possessed four-digit feet. The eyes were located
high for unobtrusive view. 

Amphimander elpueblus sported a four and a half-inch wide manus with four digits, which is sizable, about the size of a large dog's manus. But of course, these digits were fanned out as is the nature of frogs. The pes and manus of first basal Frogamanders are almost the same size. Here the imprintation of the manus is much stronger than the pes. Amphimander (as adult) was a front-heavy tetrapod with a large head and chest area and smaller hind quarters. The hind legs, however maintained a stride width that kept the pes on an even line with the manus. Thus the hind qaurters, which probably included a short tail, were of a low profile, but nonetheless accommodated leg joints of adequate length. No oversized "leaping" hind limbs are apparent. Its stature was geared to maintaining submergence in shallow water with only the eyes protruding, just like a frog, it was a frog, but a walking frog. Almost complete submergence in water was its hunting style. Its relatively large mouth probably gulped passing prey or it may have possessed a long tongue, again like a frog. A definitive hopping trackway has not yet surfaced and if it does, this will be the largest post-amphimander or post-frogamander of the late Pennsylvanian and early Permian Periods. But then, amphimander or frogamander my foot. The El Pueblo swamp frogamander was a rudimentary frog (probably over twelve pounds) that was weighing its leaping options. Its large size, just like the giant amphibians whose huge tracks in the El Pueblo facies confirm, alludes to a very rich late Pennsylvanian biota. The distended post-marine environments of the late Pennsylvanian Period launched an increase in the mobility of many animals, including the basic development of long-legged leaping frogs. A highly mineralized and fertile sea-bottom slurry found its way from uplifted sea bottoms (via flowways), right into the many bottomland swamps. The upland consisted of uplifted rilled plains that literally shed vast amounts of rain-runoff into the lowland swamps and low plains.  

The General Evidence as to a Pennsylvanian Influence in the El Pueblo Facies (and probably other facies)

The age peculiarity of the El Pueblo ichnotelmafacies (swamp facies) can be described as late to mid Pennsylvanian, or as pre-early Permian. In other words the end of the Pennsylvanian Epoch and the beginning of the early Permian Period can vary back and forth, a geological whim attributed to plate-tectonic variances during the existence of Pangea. I can almost guarantee that all geological Periods overlapped or underlapped the next or previous Period by many millions of years. Nonetheless, the overall estimation of each geological age is an amazing feat accomplished by many investigators, past and present. The fine tuning of the geologic time scale is ongoing, although as the headstrong volcanoes of Pangea would have it, the Permian or other Periods of all continents do not reflect exact synchronicity. Variable equatorial variances attributed to continental dwell or continental spin reflect differences in biological evolution, e.g., the cradle of mankind in southern Africa.

The El Pueblo swamp was not an isolated swamp, no swamp of the dim past was

Connectivity of the El Pueblo swamp with other lower or upper swamps was by flowing water. The flow of water was sometimes a trickle and sometimes a rain flood. Thus water as well as things that flowed in water, or swam in water, were a form of connectivity. Sediments brought in by water or were carried out by drainage were another form of connectivity. Wind also played a major role at a time when many seeds were of the spore type. But here's where the terms insitu and country rock come in. In situ or country rock mean locally formed. Rocks formed specifically in the El Pueblo swamp belonged to the El Pueblo swamp. Layer by layer these strata became an immovable and indelible monument to that specific place. Although the El Pueblo swamp has been quarried both for flagstone and for fossils a major undisturbed portion of the facies (as in other geological locations) needs to be preserved in its original state in order to conserve a reference point for the evidence already derived. That has been the wish for many and the end result has often been the complete destruction of many historical sites. If there is anyone out there with the means or knowledge to conserve the El Pueblo facies please contact at elpuebloearlypermianfacies50@gmail.com 

Coniferous Seeds Hinting of Pennsylvanian Age

Photo to be added

The small seeds shown in the above photo resemble tiny foraminifera or fusulines. Although the outer shell would have preserved fusulines to some degree, these are probably the cone seeds of first pinus conifers of the El Pueblo facies. Many authors have identified very early conifers as Walchia piniformis although some fronds with cone tips and some without still create some confusion. Be that what it may the tiny impressions shown in the above photo are probably Walchia piniformis seeds that spilled out of a newly open cone. The seed cone would have been quite small yet capable of enclosing a cluster of many seeds. A cone of this diminutive size is shown on an actual fossilized mat of conifer fronds at the end of this blog. The shape of the seeds was appropriate for propagation in a wet environment, with a flattened shape requiring a shallow film of water for sprouting. These seeds were probably inundated with sediment or dessicated before that could occur.

To be continued

Miscellaneous Fossils

Mini trackway in concave and convex form