Douglas Emlong
Encyclopedia
Douglas Ralph Emlong was an amateur fossil
collector from the Oregon Coast
in the northwestern United States
. His collections contributed to the discovery and description of numerous extinct marine mammal
species
, many of which are ancestral to extant groups. Described as an 'indefatigable' fossil collector with 'Promethian prowess in discovery of unprecedented vertebrate fossils', he contributed substantially to the field from the age of fourteen. The ancestral pinniped
Enaliarctos emlongi
was named in his honor by Annalisa Berta in 1991.
Marine Mammals:
Birds:
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
collector from the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
in the northwestern United States
Northwestern United States
The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States, and consistently include the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, to which part of southeast Alaska is also sometimes included...
. His collections contributed to the discovery and description of numerous extinct marine mammal
Marine mammal
Marine mammals, which include seals, whales, dolphins, and walruses, form a diverse group of 128 species that rely on the ocean for their existence. They do not represent a distinct biological grouping, but rather are unified by their reliance on the marine environment for feeding. The level of...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, many of which are ancestral to extant groups. Described as an 'indefatigable' fossil collector with 'Promethian prowess in discovery of unprecedented vertebrate fossils', he contributed substantially to the field from the age of fourteen. The ancestral pinniped
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
Enaliarctos emlongi
Enaliarctos emlongi
Enaliarctos emlongi is an extinct species of pinniped represented by fossils from coastal Oregon. It existed between 13 and 20 million years ago, during the Hemingfordian age of the Oligocene epoch. It was named for renowned fossil collector Douglas Emlong in 1991 by paleontologist Annalisa...
was named in his honor by Annalisa Berta in 1991.
Discoveries
Fossils discovered by Douglas Emlong include:Marine Mammals:
- Aetiocetus cotylalveus, an early, toothed relative of baleen whales and evolutionary link between ancient and modern cetaceans
- SimocetusSimocetusSimocetus is an extinct genus of toothed whale that lived 30 million years ago, in the Oligocene period. It is known from a single fossil, a skull, found in marine siltstone deposits of the Alsea Formation on the banks of Oregon's Yaquina River in 1977 by fossil hunter of the region, Douglas Emlong...
, a genus of bottom-feeding pug-nosed whales which may have had comparable echolocationAnimal echolocationEcholocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
abilities to modern toothed whales - BehemotopsBehemotopsBehemotops is an extinct genus of herbivorous marine mammal of the family Desmostylidae living from the Rupelian stage of the Early Oligocene subepoch through the Late Oligocene subepoch and in existence for approximately ....
, a genus of primitive, elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
-like desmostyliaDesmostyliaDesmostylia is an extinct order of marine mammals which existed from the Arikareean age of the late Oligocene epoch to the Tortonian age of the late Miocene epoch . Their dental and skeletal form suggests desmostylians were amphibious herbivores dependent on littoral habitats...
ns - A remarkably complete skeleton of EnaliarctosEnaliarctosEnaliarctos is an extinct genus of pinniped.Prior to the discovery of Puijila, the five species in the genus Enaliarctos represented the oldest known pinniped fossils, having been recovered from late Oligocene and early Miocene strata of California and Oregon.It had a short tail and developed...
, a late-OligoceneOligoceneThe Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
pinnipedPinnipedPinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
ancestor, from Pyramid Hill, California - The first complete skull of KolponomosKolponomosKolponomos is an extinct genus of marine bears which existed from the Hemingfordian age to the Aquitanian age of the Miocene epoch, about 20 million years ago. It was described in 1960 by Ruben A. Stirton, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, from a partial skull and jaw...
, a relative of bears specialized in diving for mollusks, which was previously thought to be a raccoonProcyonidaeProcyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, ringtails and cacomistles. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments, and are generally omnivorous.-Characteristics:...
ancestor
Birds:
- Tonsala hildegardae, a late-OligoceneOligoceneThe Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
pelicaniformPelecaniformesThe Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
which proved the existence of the proposed family PlotopteridaePlotopteridaePlotopteridae is the name of an extinct family of flightless seabirds from the order Pelecaniformes. Related to the gannets and boobies, they exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins...