A new species of Early Eocene Artiodactyl named after Lady Gaga.

The Artiodactyls (even-hooved Mammals) are the most successful group of large Mammalian herbivores in modern environments, comprising Antelopes, Deer, Cattle, Sheep and Goats, Musk-oxen, Giraffes, Camels, Pigs, Hippopotamuses, as well as (surprisingly) Whales and Dolphins. They first appear in the fossil record in the Early Eocene in North America, rapidly diverging into a variety of forms around the Early Eocene Thermal Maximum.

In a paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on 6 May 2014, Richard Stucky of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Herbert Covert of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, describe a new species of Artiodactyl from the Early Eocene Wasatch Formation near Bitter Creek in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

The new species is named Gagadon minimonstrum, where ‘Gaga-’ honours the popular singer Lady Gaga and ‘-don’ means ‘tooth’, and ‘minimonstrum’ means ‘small monster’; a reference to the small size and surprising dentition of the specimen. The species is described from a single right lower jaw and several detached teeth. 

The left dentary of Gagadon minimonstrum. Stucky & Covert (2014).

The Early Eocene Mammal fossils of the Bitter Creek area are well known, and while the sites in the area still produce many fossils, the discovery of new species is now somewhat of a rare event. Gagadon minimonstrum is thought to be a member of the Homacodontids, one of three early Artiodactyl groups found in these deposits, which are known from the Wind River and Green River Basins. The Homacodontids become more abundant in the Middle Eocene, and are probably related to the later Selenodonts.

See also…

 A highly specialized Musk Ox from the Late Miocene of Gansu Province, China.

In 1932 Birger Bohlin, chief palaeontologist with the explorer Sven Hedin’s Sino-Swedish Scientific Expedition to Northwest China...

 A Chacoan Peccary from the Late Pleistocene of northern Uruguay.

The Chacoan Peccary (Catagonus wagneri) was first recorded from...

 A mass stranding of Rorqual Whales (Balaenopteridae) from the Miocene of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

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Fatality at Wyoming coal mine.

A man has died in an accident at the Jim Bridger Coal Mine near Rock Springs in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Mark Stassinos, 44, was thrown from the cab of a bulldozer and killed instantly when he drove over a 50 at about 2.30 am local time (8.30 am GMT) on Sunday 6 October 2013. The precise cause of the accident has yet to be determined. Work has ceased at the mine pending a federal investigation into the incident.

The entrance to the underground section of the Jim Bridger Coal Mine. Star-Tribune.

The Jim Bridger Mine is operated by Bridger Coal, a joint venture between PacificCorp and Idaho Power. The mine has both an open pit and an underground section, producing a total of about 8.8 million tones of coal per year, and is estimated to have reserves of over 120 million tonnes. The company was cited for 25 separate violations of safety regulations following an inspection by federal safety authorities in 2012, including failure to provide adequate up to date maps of the mine.

This is the third death at a coal mine in the US in three days, the first time this has happened in over a decade, and many people are linking this to the US Federal Government shutdown, which has halved the number of inspectors from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration involved in active inspection of mines.

The approximate location of the Jim Bridger Coal Mine. Google Maps.

See also Fatality at Illinois coal mine, Worker killed at West Virginia coal mine, Executive faces prison over West Virginia's Upper Branch Mine Disaster, Fatality at Mexican Silver Mine and Worker dies at Saskatchewan potash mine.

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Magnitude 3.1 Earthquake in Sweetwater County, southwest Wyoming.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 3.1 Earthquake at a depth of 3.2 km in western Sweetwater County in southwest Wyoming, slightly before 2.55 am local time (slightly before 8.55 am GMT) on Saturday 28 September 2013. There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event, though it is likely to have been felt locally.

The approximate location of the 28 September 2013 Sweetwater County Earthquake. Google Maps.

Wyoming typically suffers two or three moderate sized Earthquakes per year, though quakes large enough to cause significant damage are rare. The mountainous areas of the east of the state have a number of deeply buried faults where occasional movement occurs. This can be caused by movement around the Yellowstone Magma Chamber in the northeast of the state, an area that suffers more-or-less constant small tremors due to the movement of magma beneath the surface, but which seldom experiences larger quakes. The constant small movements around Yellowstone can lead to stress building up in rocks further away, leading to Earthquakes as the rocks release the strain by readjusting their positions, which can affect Wyoming as well as neighbouring Idaho and Montana. The same faults also suffer stress due to more distant rock movements, notably on the subduction zone on the American west coast.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events and the underlying structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) then you can report it to the United States Geological Survey here.

See also Magnitude 2.8 Earthquake in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Magnitude 3.2 Earthquake in Love County, south Oklahoma, Magnitude 2.7 Earthquake in Yellowstone National Park, northwest Wyoming, Magnitude 2.6 Earthquake near the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Magnitude 2.7 Earthquake in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma.

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