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Palestinian Fossils
Dinosaur tracks from Beit Zeit, Jerusalem
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By: Nirit Avnimelech and Fred Bervoets
Palestines history is mostly known from the Bible. The Holy land is full of historical places and is visited by many tourist and pilgrims that want to see the remarkable beauty of this country with their own eyes. Palestine is sometimes called "The land were the time began" but
that there are treasures to be seen from the Mesozoic period is not so well known. Thanks to Moshe Avnimelech, who described the dinosaur tracks of the Judean Hills, the historical welth of Palestine goes further back in time than anyone ever had expected. Just on a few kilometers from the historical and cultural centrum of Jerusalem ninety to hundred million years old dinosaur tracks give great insight in the prehistoric life of the Middle East.
Discovery:
The discovery of the Beit Zait (Beth Zayit) dinosaur tracks, just a few kilometers west of Jerusalem, was made by Mr. Mordechai Sofer, a former geology student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During the summer of 1962 Mordechai Sofer informed Moshe Avnimelech that
mysterious imprints were left in the rocks in the garden of Mr. Schwarzwald who was as Mr. Sofer, a resident of the Beit Zait village. The next day Moshe Avnimelech visited the site. What he found was a continuous row of tracks, stretching for some 10 meter.
It seemed that the tracks went on onto the hillock to the east and north of the exposed area. Later when an further area of 400 sq. m. was uncovered numerous additional tracks similar in form, pattern and direction were revealed.
Age of the tracks:
The age of the tracks is fixed by what is known of the geological structure and history of the Judean Hills, a layer at least 500 meter thick that constitute a part of a series of strata deposited from the Early Cretcaeous, Barremian to the Late Cretaceous, Campanian period.
The strata were the tracks are found are usually assigned to the lowest part of the Cenomanian series, but the possibility that they belong to the Upper Albian may not be excluded. So, the age may be estimated ninety to hundred million years.
Nature of the rocks:
The nature of the rocks on which the tracks were made indicates a marine origin, composed out of dolomitic-marly limestone in regular 10-15 cm. thick layers, with the seams of marl in between. The fossils in part of the layers are chiefly of marine gastropods of shallow-water character. Imprints of terrestrial plants were found in
some of the layers, indicating the nearness of the shore. In certain layers, concentrations may be observed of reddish-brown earthy material, which is obviously derived from the adjacent land area.
Form and arrangement:
The form and arangement of the tracks clearly show that the tracks were made by a biped. Often only the digits were imprinted but sometimes even the tarsals were pressed into the rock surface. The imprints of the tarsals shows that these were elongated, so it
lengthening the foot. The tracks are made by theropod dinosaurs which were carnivorous and had four toes of which the first was short and high.
Trackmaker:
In general shape and appearance to trackmaker may have been similar to the North Amercian genus Struthiomimus. It appears that the trackmaker belongs to one of the families of the group Coelurosauria, specially the Coeluridae and Ornithomimidae of which the first seems
to fit the tracks more closely. However, considering the dinosaur remains discovered in North Africa, the possibility can not be excluded that Elaphrosaurus bambergi lived once in the vicnity of
Beit Zait. The trackmaker had an estimated length of the hind-limbs up to the waist, was 140 cm.; the forelimbs were attached to the shoulders at a height of approximately 150-160 cm. The height of the
animal, when standing upright, was 230-250 cm., and the length of the animal was from tip to tail about 360-380 cm and weighted approximally 150 kg.
Types:
The Bait Zeit site is an area of approxmately four hundred meters on which more than two hundred tracks can be seen. Several types of tracks can be distinguished, which might belong to three species. The most frequent type is characterized by an angle of 70 to 90 degrees between the outhermost digits. The length of these digits is 18-20 cm while the length of the middle digit (III) is 24-27 cm.
The length and thickness of the tracks vary with the heaviness of tread and the proprties of the soil. A round or retangular depression was formed at the place where the digits were joined: it is bulb-shaped and is evidently the imprint of a tarsal bone or bones. The
outhermost digits of the second type make a broad arc with their base, giving the footprints the shape of an anchor. Ain this type the length of the central digit is as with the first 40 to 50% greater than that of the outhermost digits.
The third type differs from the firstand second in that the base of the digits is almost straight. It is however, possible that this is only accidental, and can be attributed to the mode of the tread.
Several isolated tracks with digits of almost equal length are totally different. The digits are splayed out at an angle of nearly 120 degrees; the external ones are bent out to form a smooth arc.
These tracks are probably of the fore-limb, which may explain their rarity. Tracks of different imes of passage are also distinguishable: the earlier are blurred, as they were subsequwntly covered by a thin layer of new sediment.
There are several 10-15 meter long rows of tracks which are made up of 15 to 20 footprints, and other shorter rows, only 3 to 4 meter long, consisting of no more than 4 to 6. In general, the direction of the long rows of tracks which are more prominent than the short ones - is from south to north or north to south, whereas the direction of the shorter rows is commonly from northeast to southwest or vice versa. Only few of the very shortest rows run approximately east-west or west-east. In the area, it is possible to make out three long rows which trend north-south, more than a dozen medium rows, and 4-5 short rows which run east-west.
Conclusion:
(as written by M. Avnimelech in 1965)
The Beit Zait tracks are of prime scientific value. They record one of the major links in the biological chain of development on earth, and open a gateway to the spirit of eternity, mirrored in the infinite mutations which have influenced the character of the Earth and life on it.
That, spirit, emanating from the imprints on the rock, may enlarge the outlook of our citizens, and of our youth not least.
It is a public duty to guarantee the preservation of the site and make it accessible to all who wish to learn and enrich their minds.
Special thanks to Professors Sass, Zak and Heller-Kal and Zelda Colodner of the Library of the Institute of Sciences of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Biography of Moshe Avnimelech:
Moshe Avnimelech was born in 1899 in Warsaw, Poland. As a high school student he became very active in the Zionist movement and grew up to be one of its leaders. In 1920 he immigrated to Palestine as one of the pioneers, coming to create "Israel" as the homeland for the Jewish people. Coming to Palestine, he translated his last name from Kenigstein (meaning King's Stone) to the ancient Hebrew term, Avnimelech.
He worked for years in a cooperative community, quarries and construction works. Following back problems that developed due to these jobs, he went back to Europe (Germany, France) and studied geology. He joined the new department of Geology in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.The major mission of the department was to develop water sources needed for the new agricultural settlements established in the arid parts of the country. This mission was associated with long excursions to the different parts of the country; study of the unknown geology of these regions and the identification of sites where underground water was feasible.
Later, Professor Avnimelech headed the paleontology department. In this capacity he was notified of strange patterns found on rocks in a construction site near Jerusalem, patterns that were identified by him as footprints of Struthiomimus.
References:
Avnimelech, M.A. (1966) Dinosaur Tracks in the Judean Hills. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Proceedings, section of sciences, No. 1.
Avnimelech, M. A. (1962). Dinosaur tracks in the Judean Hills. Proceedings, Israel Acad. Sci. Humanities Sect. Sci. 1:1-19.
Avnimelech, M. A. (1962). Decouverte d'empreintes de pas de Dinosaures dans le Cenomanien inferieur des environs de Jerusalem. C. R. Soc. Geol. France 1962: 233-235.
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Legged Snake Fossil from Ein Yabrud, Jerusalem
Legged Snake Fossil from Ein Yabrud, Jerusalem
Researchers from Southern Methodist University, Dallas (USA) have described an intriguing new species of fossil snake with legs that was found in the Ein Yabrud limestone quarry, north of Jerusalem. In a paper published in March 2000 in the Science Journal, SMU paleontologist Prof.Louis Jacobs and several international co-authors say the fossil snake is important because it provides new information on the evolution of snakes. The fossil snake, which lived 95 million years ago, is named Haasiophis terrasanctus after a Hebrew University professor named George Haas who obtained it from quarry workers more than 20 years ago. The well-preserved fossil sat largely unstudied in storage until Mike Polcyn, an SMU graduate student in paleontology, brought back pictures of it and other undescribed specimens that he took while on a business trip to Occupied Palestine in 1996. "We immediately decided we needed to go back and organize a joint project to research and publish on this unique location and the animals preserved there," Polcyn said. Haasiophis is a little over a meter long and has hind legs about 2 cm long that extend all the way to the toe bones. Its head and lower jaws are intact. "It is extremely rare to find a fossil snake head preserved because they usually get spread and scattered," Jacobs said. Haasiophis is the second limbed snake to come from the limestone quarry near the villages of Ein Yabrud, north of Jerusalem. George Haas published a description of the first limbed snake, Pachyrachis problematicus, in 1979, but at the time he placed it not as a snake but as a marine lizard known as a dolichosaur. Some scientists believe Pachyrachis represents the most primitive snake known and provides evidence of a link between mosasaurs giant swimming lizards of the Cretaceous Period and true snakes. In the past 20 years, however, researchers have developed more quantitative methods of evaluating relationships between species based on unique anatomical details. The analysis of the head and jaws of Haasiophis presented in the Science article places it closer to more advanced terrestrial snakes such as boas and pythons and suggests that neither Pachyrachis nor Haasiophis has anything to do with snake origins. "As a result of this analysis, it seems less likely that snakes evolved from mosasaurs," Jacobs said. Scientists believe snakes evolved from a group of lizards prior to 100 million years ago. During the evolutionary process, their headbones changed, they developed long bodies with specialized vertebra and muscles, and they lost their legs. Jacobs said analysis of Haasiophis indicates that snake feeding apparatus, body form and locomotor pattern all evolved before the hind legs were lost. "The fact Haasiophis had legs means that either snakes lost their legs more than once or they re-evolved them," Jacobs said. He speculates that the tiny legs on Haasiophis were somehow used in reproduction and stimulation, much like the spurs on anacondas are used today. They are too small in relation to the reptile's whole body to have helped it move. During the Cretaceous Period, the area that includes the Middle East was a shallow sea with patches of reef and limestone deposition, much like the modern-day Bahamian reef. At one point about 95 million years ago, the sea level fell, making a quiet area on this limestone shelf. Animals washed into the area and fell to the bottom. With no scavengers to eat the bodies, they eventually fossilized within the limestone. Paleontologists also have found fossils of sharks, turtles, primitive mosasaurs and plants in the Ein Yabrud quarry. Analysis of Haasiophis also adds to the debate over whether snakes originated on land or in the sea. Haasiophis lived in the sea, and Jacobs believes it may represent the first invasion of the sea by snakes.(SMU News).
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