A worker for a local excavation company is now proud to boast of a unique fish story with a prehistoric twist, discovering several fossils while excavating a northwest Calgary basement.
Edgar Nemberg was digging a basement for a new home in Evanston when he found five perfectly preserved fish fossils inside a block of sandstone.
Nemberg was the perfect person to make the find too, because he has a history of fossil finding dating back into his childhood.
"The first seashell fossils I saw were shown to me by my father in the rocks we had to pick off of our farmland in Manitoba, and I've been watching for and collecting fossils ever since,” he said in a release.
He’s dug hundreds of basements in his time working in Calgary and has found a full collection of clams, shells, leaf remains, and wood embedded in the stone.
He originally figured that he would take the five fish fossils home, but he thought that he should just find a paleontologist.
Experts say the find is particularly significant because finds like these are particularly rare and help to shed light on the nature and diversity of animals that lived beyond the age of the dinosaurs.
Darla Zelentisky, with the University of Calgary, says Nemberg did the right thing as it’s important to contact a paleontologist so fossils are assessed, cleaned, and properly cared for.
She says that fossils can be found anywhere in the province, but there are specific rules about any discoveries.
"Picking fossils up from the ground surface, or surface collection, is allowed in Alberta only with land owner permission," she says. "However, removing or excavation of fossils from the ground can only be done by a professional paleontologist with a permit."
All fossils in Alberta are the property of the province, not of the landowners or the individuals who find them.
The fossils will now be sent to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, where they’ll be curated, cleaned up, and possibly put on display.
