4 - Friday. November 9, 1990 - North Shore News Five-eyed critters found in East B.C. ON THE road between Golden, British Columbia, and Lake Louise, Alberta, is the small town of Field, B.C., in Yoho National Park. From Field, one may drive a tew miles to Takakkaw camp- ground and from there climb to the Burgess Pass, a shale out- cropping 2,500 metres above sea level. Here, in 1909, one of the greatest discoveries in the history of paleontology was made, al- though the significance of that discovery lay hidden in museum drawers for eight decades. The world-renowned Burgess Shale of eastern British Columbia contains animal fossils $30 million years old, from an era of life on earth known as the Cambrian ex- plosion, when life ‘‘exploded”’ in- to a vast array of multicellular forms after three billion years of single-cell organisms. Fossils from this era are rare because the soft-bodied marine animals disintegrated in the ov- ygen-rich seabeds, leaving no im- print. The unique fossils of the Burgess Shale were probably formed when an ancient mud slide carried the fauna into an oxygen- free basin where the mud hard- ened and preserved the mysterious creatures. The quarry was discovered by American paleontologist Charles Walcott, who collected specimens until 1917. He only superficially classified the odd animals, but never had the time to rigorously analyze the 80,000 specimens which were sent to the Smithso- nian Institution, where they reside to this day. In 1965, the Geological Survey of Canada, headed by Digby McLaren, reopened the Burgess fossil study. McLaren's stated ob- jective was to *‘repatriate the Burgess Shale,’’ but he had no idea what treasures the study would uncover. He hired Harry Whittington of Cambridge University to review the origina: -iassifications, and over the next 20 years, Whit- tington revealec the secrets of ear- ly multi-celled life. Whittington was one of the world’s leading experts of fossil arthropods, the animal phylum that includes evsinct trilobites as well as modern insects, spiders and crustaceans. Most of the Burgess fossils had been classified as arthropods. A phylum is the broadest classification of animats, describ- ing a distinct body design. There are about 10 main modern phyla, and approximately 10 or so minor ones. In addition to the arthropods, other phyla include the mollusks (clams and snails) and echinoderms (sea urchins and starfish}. All fish and land mam- mals, including humans, are classified in the phylum chordate, so named for our distinct backbone. Whittington found that most of these animals from 530 million years ago were not arthropods, and in fact did not fit into any modern phyla. Take for example a bizarre Burgess animal named Opabinia. hea aay? tex Weyler THE GOOD EARTH Modern analyticai techniques revealed that Opabinia had five eyes, 15 body sections with gills, a three-piece tail, and an odd nozzte for scooping food into a backwards-facing mouth. Opabinia is like no other fossil ever recorded, and has no living descendants. It isa unique phylum, or anatontical design, unto itself, an alien not from the depths of space, but from the depths of time. Whittington discovered at least eight, and perhaps as many as 20, new phyla among the Burgess fossils. In other words, in one outcropping of rock in British Columbia there are perhaps as many extinct phyla as there are living phyla today. Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, in his recent book Wonderful Life, estimates that the number of Cambrian phyla may be closer to 200. What these Burgess Shale fassils tell us. then, is that when life first blossomed from its long, single- celled prelude into multi-celled diversity, several hundred body designs were created, Of these, only 20 or so have survived until today. Science has long thought that the complex forms evolved from the simpler forms, and that life has been getting more diverse since the first cell was created. The Burgess Shale fossils tell a different story. According to Whittington and Gould, life reached its greatest diversity of design over 560 mil- lion years ago. Today the earth has many more species, but those species are based on fewer basic designs. Furthermore, according to Gould, the survivors were not necessarily of superior design. Sheer luck, being in the right place at the right time, may have been the more significant factor. **The modern order was not guaranteed by basic laws,"’ says Gould, but is ‘‘largely a product of contingency.”’ The chordates, our watery ancestors, survived while five-eyed Opabinia and hundreds of other anatomical experiments perished, not in a competition of fitness, but in a long lottery of cir- cumstances. If Gould and Whittington are correct, then the Burgess Shale of British Columbia gives new significance to the feeling of being lucky to be alive. Canadian @ Assan niten Dibetes canadienne Asse ater alo diabete B.C, Division Meeting to discuss golf course FRIENDS OF Cypress and the Worldwide Home Environmentalisis’ Network have scheduled a) fues- day. Nov. 13 town hall meeting ii anticipation of the Nov. PE? municipal referendum on the controversial Cypress golf course devels *ment. The meeting is scheduled to start at West Vancouver Secondary School, Ave. in West Vancouver. Speakers scheduled for ethnobotanist Wade Davis, author of and the Rainbow, Western Canadian Wilderness Committee director Randy Stoltmann, West) Van- couver artist Daniel Izzard, environmental singer 7:30 pom, iit 1750) Nathers meeting include The Serpent the NORTH VAN | DISTRICT | SCHOOL TRUSTEE Ratti, hghthouse keeper and author Donald Graham and Friends of Cypress director Paul Hundal. A shde show of the Cypress Ridge’s ancient forest will be shown, signed posters of ancient trees by Daniel Izzard will be available. Local singer Ann Mortifee is also scheduled to perform at the meeting. People are asked to bring their own cup for the refreshments, and to phone Elaine at 926-6686 or Jeanette at 926-3070 if they wish to arrange carpool- ing. For further 926-5079, information, call Sue Cameron at HOLD THE PRESSES West Vancouver does have a choice FOR MAYOR There is an alternative! Meet HUGH JOHN BRICE MACDOUGALL Chartered Accountant FOR MAYOR WEST y VANCOUVER BRICE MACDOUGALL will: Be a full time Mayor. Be fiscally responsible. * * * MAYOR WEST | VANCOUVER : Be interested in you and your concerns. * Be committed to the environment. * * * * Be concerned with seniors’ housing. Be committed to a safe community, especially for the youth. Be conducting quarterly town meetings. Encourage community input at ail levels. If you have questions or wish to help elect BRICE MACDOUGALL phone 925-1531. Committee to Elect BRICE MACDOUGALL For Mayor 1375 Marine Drive, West Vancouver Join John Pozer and friends to elect BRICE MACDOUGALL