Bison which killed woman in South Dakota to be relocated.

A Bison which killed a 70-year-old Canadian woman in Custer State Park, South Dakota, is to be relocated to another area. The incident happened on 18 May, when the woman and her husband encountered a group of five Bison bulls on the Grace Coolidge Trail, which runs through the park. At this time the bulls were about 500 m ahead of the couple, who allowed them to move off before following. A little while later the couple encountered the Bison again, though this time they were only about 15 m away. The couple waited for them to move before starting to follow, but this time moved while the Animals were still in site, causing one of the bulls to turn and charge.

Bison in Custer State Park, South Dakota. Wikimedia Commons.

The initial charge resulted in the woman being thrown about two metres in the air, sustaining serious injuries to the leg and abdomen. The Bison then stood over the injured woman for about 15 minutes while her husband hid behind a tree and called the local sheriff's office. During this time the woman remained conscious, and was able to talk to her husband. The bull eventually wandered off, after which the husband approached the woman, but this caused the Animal to turn and charge again, this time throwing her about three meters into the air and causing fatal injuries. After this the Bison walked off, and the husband attempted to perform CPR, being joined shortly after by first aid-trained park staff, but it was impossible to save her. The death was the first Bison-related fatality in the park for 21 years.

Following the incident, rumours began to circulate that the park authorities planned to euthanize the Bison, leading to a public outcry, and many people contacting the South Dakota Governor’s Office, the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks and Custer State Park, asking for the Animal to be spared. On Wednesday 10 June the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish and Parks announced that they were willing to rehome the bull and take care of its welfare. 

Bison are large animals, the American Bison can reach 1.8 m in length and weigh around 900 kg, and have notoriously unpredictable tempers, often appearing placid and indifferent to their surroundings, and then charging without warning. They can reach speeds of 35 km per hour, and both sexes have horns, which can make unexpected charging highly dangerous.

North America is thought to have been home to about 50 million Bison at the beginning of the nineteenth century, a number that fell to less than a thousand individuals by the middle of the twentieth century due to over-hunting, not just for the purpose of food, but as part of a conscious effort to change the landscape from one amenable to traditional, Native American, lifestyles to a landscape suitable to European-style farming. However since the mid-twentieth century conservation efforts and breeding programs have reversed this decline, with the population now about 530 000 across the continent, including around 40 000 in South Dakota.

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Families evacuated after sinkhole opens near homes in Black Hawk, South Dakota.

Twelve families have been evacuated from homes in the Black Hawk area of Rapid City in Meade County, South Dakota, following the appearance of a sinkhole on Monday 27 April 2020. Since first appearing the hole has expanded to cover an area of about fifteen metres by twelve, as well as breaking water and sewer lines in the area, and there are concerns that if could expand further and present a structural threat to buildings in the area.

Sinkhole in the Black Hawk area of Rapid City, South Dakota. Associated Press.

Sinkholes are generally caused by water eroding soft limestone or unconsolidated deposits from beneath, causing a hole that works its way upwards and eventually opening spectacularly at the surface. Where there are unconsolidated deposits at the surface they can infill from the sides, apparently swallowing objects at the surface, including people, without trace.

On this occasion exploration of the hole by expert cavers revealed that it was caused by the collapse of part of an old and abandoned gypsum mine beneath the area. The mine is between seven and ten metres below the ground, and extends for over 180 m horizontally, with around 700 m of accessible passages, as much as twelve metres wide and four metres high. The mine is believed to have been excavated in the early 1900s, and used as a dump in the later twentieth century, with a variety of abandoned materials including a 1951 Ford motorcar found within the site. It is unclear if the developers that built houses above the site were aware of the presence of the mine.

A car found in an abandoned gypsum mine beneath Black Hawk, South Dakota. Dan Austin/Paha Sapa Grotto.

Gypsum is an evaporate rock, a form of calcium sulphate deposited as mineral-rich water evaporates, often around sulphurous hot springs or volcanic systems. It is a very soft rock, and soluble in water, so moisture entering gypsum deposits can cause major collapses and subsidence.

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Significant spill from Keystone XL Pipeline in South Dakota.

Part of the Keystone XL Pipeline has been closed down after a leak was discovered about 35 km to the south of the Ludden Pump Station in Marshall County, South Dakota, on Thursday 13 November 2017. The spill was detected by pipeline operators TransCanada, who noticed a drop in pressure in the pipeline and shut down flow while the situation was investigated.  The leak was originally thought to have been quite small, with about 210 000 barrels (333 900 000 litres) of oil having been lost, however inspection of the site has suggested a much larger loss, with current estimates running at 600 000 barrels (953 900 000 litres) and environmental groups concerned that the real figure will eventually be found to be much higher. This discrepancy is thought to have been caused by the dense nature of the bituminous oil running through the pipeline, which will have resulted in a slower drop in pressure that would happen with a lighter oil fraction.

The November 2017 South Dakota spill. TransCanada.

The Keystone XL Pipeline is intended to carry crude oil from tar sands deposits in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois and Texas in the US. It been opposed at almost every stage by environmental groups concerned about the possibility of leaks such as this week's one in South Dakota, the environmentally destructive nature of extracting oil from tar sands, and the contribution of a major expansion in hydrocarbons production to atmospheric carbon dioxide and global warming. These concerns led former American President Barrack Obama to halt the construction of the pipeline in 2015, however this order was rescinded by incoming President Donald Trump in March 2017. The pipeline currently pumps oil from Alberta to a refinery in Patola, Illinois, with construction of the final leg to Texas underway.

Protests against the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline in Washington DC in 2014. Kristina Banks/Huffington Post.

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Possible evidence of endothermy in Mosasaurs.

The Mosasaurs were a group of Lizards related to Varanids (Monitor Lizards) that adopted to a marine lifestyle in the Middle Cretaceous, after the extinction of the Icthyosaurs. They were a highly successful group producing a range of species ranging from under a meter to over 10 m in length, and are thought to have been the top predators in many Late Cretaceous marine environments. Mosasaurs were fully aquatic, clearly incapable of leaving the water, and known to have given birth to live young; later forms show convergence with Icthyosaurs and Dolphins, with streamlined bodies and hypocercal tails (tails with enlarged lower lobes), indicating that they were most likely highly active animals. This, combined with their presence in deposits in cold regions such as Antarctica and the Canadian Arctic has led some researchers to sugest that they may have been endothermic ('warm blooded', capable of maintaining a warm body in a cold environment by metabolic means), as has been suggested for othe Mesozoic Marine Reptile groups.

In a paper published in the journal Palaeontology on 1 April 2016, Lynn Harrell of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama, Alberto Pérez-Huerta of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama and the Alabama Museum of Natural History and Celina Suarez of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas, describe the results of a study of oxygen isotopes from Mosasuar, Fish, Turtle and Seabird specimens from the Late Cretaceous Mooreville Chalk of Alabama and Sharon Springs Formation of South Dakota, with the aim of determining the approximate body temperatures of these animals, and assessing whether those of the Mosasaurs were closer to those of the cold blooded Fish and Turtles or warm blooded Birds.

Oxygen has several stable isotopes, all of which can be included in any oxygen compound. Importantly heavier isotopes, particularly oxygen-18, are included in biominerals (mineralized tissues produced by living things, such as shell, bone and tooth) at higher levels at lower temperatures and at lower levels at higher temperatures, providing an approximate thermometer for the time when these tissues were laid down.

Three different Mosasaurs were used in the study, the small Clidastes, the medium-sized Platecarpus and the large Tylosaurus, as well as a small, cold blooded Fish, Enchodus, a medium sized, air-breathing, cold blooded Turtle, Toxochelys, and two Seabirds, the flightless Hesperornis and the Seagull-like Ichthyornis.

Body outlines and skeletons of Mosasaur genera analysed in this study for scale (left) and representative dentaries for each genus (right). Scale bars represent 3 m (left) and 10 cm (right). Harrell et al. (2016).

Both the Mooreville Chalk and the Sharon Springs Formation are thought to have been laid down in open marine environments, as opposed to closed bays where lack of free circulation can influence water temperature. The Moorville Chalk is inturpretted as a shallower environment than the deeper Sharon Springs Formation.

Harrell et al. found that the (warm blooded) Birds Hesperornis and Ichthyornis contained consistently lower levels of oxygen-18 levels than the (cold blooded) Fish, Enchodus, or Turtle, Toxochelys, suggesting that these animals (as predicted) had higher body temperatures, and that the methodology was able to detect this. The Mosasaur specimens fell between these two groups, with the lowest oxygen-18 levels found comparible with those of Birds and even the highest levels lower than those found in the cold-blooded Fish and Turtles, suggesting that the Mosasaurs had higher body temperatures than members of these groups.

Within the Mosasaurs the large Tylosaurus had on average the lowest levels of oxygen-18, suggesting the highest body temperature, while the medium-sized Platecarpus had the on average highest oxygen-18 levels, suggesting the lowest body temperatures, though there was considerable overlap between specimens of the different species. 

δ¹⁸O_PO4 data of Mooreville Chalk specimens relative to Fish (left) and Birds (right). The 0 position on the line graph indicates the mean δ¹⁸O_PO4of all Mooreville Chalk Fish. Harrell et al. (2016).

Harrell et al. conclude that this does provide support for (if not actual proof of) the theory that Mosasaurs were endothermic. The lack of a direct connection between size and oxygen-18 levels would appear to rule out the alternative hypotheis, that the Mosasaurs were gigantothermic, not able to generate heat metabolically, but able to retain more heat due to a large volume compared to their surface area (larger objects, including animals, have larger volumes compared to their surface areas).

See also...

Phosphorosaurus ponpetelegans: A new species of Halisaurine Mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous of Hokkaido.               Mososaurs were a distinctive group of large...

A Freshwater Mosasauroid from the late Cretaceous of Hungary.                       Mosasauroids were large marine Lizards that became dominant marine predators in the Late Cretaceous after the disappearance...

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Dakotaraptor Steini: A giant, feathered Dromaeosaurid from the End Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota.

Dromaeosaurids were first described in the 1920s, but received relatively little attention from palaeontologists until the late 1960s. However in recent years it has been realized that the group were the closest non-avian relatives of the Birds, and they have become one of the best studied of all Dinosaur groups. The majority of Dromaeosaurids were small animals with wing-like forelimbs and feathers, interpreted as having lived much of their lives in the treetops, with some species thought to have been capable of true flight and others of gliding. However other members of the group retain feathered wings despite being clearly quite incapable of flying due to their size and shape, leading to speculation that the ‘wings’ may have had some other purpose, quite unrelated to flight.

Among these clearly non-flying Dromaeosaurids are four previously described ‘giant’ species, all from the Late Cretaceous, Deinonychus antirrhopus and Utahraptor ostrommaysi from North America, Achillobator giganticus from Asia and Austroraptor cabazai from South America. Rather than forming a distinct group these giant Dromaeosaurids appear to have arisen at least three times from more average-sized members of the group, suggesting that some factor favoured the evolution of larger Dromaeosaurids towards the end of the Cretaceous.

In a paper published in the journal Paleontological Contributions on 30 October 2015, Robert DePalma of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at The Palm Beach Museum of Natural History and the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, David Burnham and the late Larry Martin, also of the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, Peter Larson of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and Robert Bakker of the Houston Museum of Nature and Science describe a new species of giant Dromaeosaurid from the End Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of Harding County, South Dakota.

The new species is named Dakotaraptor steini, where ‘Dakotaraptor’ refers to the state where the species was discovered and the Dakota people that gave it its name (‘raptor’ means ‘plunderer’ in Latin and is a common suffix for Dromaeosaurids, as well as being used as a collective name for modern Birds of Prey), and ‘steini’ honours palaeontologist Walter Stein. The species is described from an adult specimen comprising the right pedal unguals II & III, the right femur, the left and right tibiae, the left astragalus and calcaneum, the left metatarsals II-IV, the right metatarsal IV, one fragmentary dorsal centrum, 10 caudal vertebrae, the furcula, the left and right humeri, the left and right radii, the left and right ulnae, the right metacarpals I and II and three fragmentary left manual phalanges, plus an isolated left tibia, a left astragalus and calcaneum, two furcula and several teeth.

Quary map indicating the spatial relationship of the bones of the first Dakotaraptor specimen as they were found in the field. DePalma et al. (2015).

The ulna of Dakotaraptor shows a row of 10 oblong protuberances, interpreted as being quill knobs, or ulnar papilli; attachment points for flight feathers. These have been detected before in Theropod Dinosaurs, particularly Dromaeosaurids, as well as being known in modern and Mesozoic Birds. Importantly, in modern Birds, these structures only develop in species that place exceptional stresses on the wing feathers during flight. Since the size and shape of Dakotaraptor makes it highly unlikely that it was capable of any form of flight, it seems likely that it was placing stress on its wing feathers engaging in some other form of activity. This has been seen previously in other Dromaeosaurids deemed unlikely fliers (for example Velociraptor) and has led to a number of suggestions as to possible uses for wing feathers in Dromaeosaurids, such as brooding eggs and young or subduing prey. DePalma et al. feel that the brooding young explanation cannot explain the deep ulnar papilli seen in Dakotaraptor and other Dromaeosaurids, and therefore reject this hypothesis, but do feel they lend to support to the idea that strong feathers may have aided prey suppression in these animals.

Reconstructed Dakotaraptor wing and plumage, with Avian and Theropod comparisons. (A) Enlarged view of the quill knobs on the Dakotaraptor ulna, compared with quill knobs in Velociraptor (B) and Concavenator (C); (D) conservative reconstruction of the wing plumage for Dakotaraptor based on quill knob placement and comparison with other Dromaeosaurid and Bird wings; (E) quill knobs on a modern Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) ulna, and (F), X-ray of a modern Barred Owl (Strix varia) wing showing attachment of the remiges on the quill knobs. The flattened dorsal surface of Dakotaraptor’s metacarpal II would have provided a stable shelf for the primary remiges that laid across it, a possible driving force for evolving the flat surface. Photograph (F) provided by Smalley’s Animal Hospital. DePalma et al. (2015).

Dakotaraptor is interpreted as being exceptionally large for a Dromaeosaurid, or indeed any form of Maniraptoran (the group of Theropod Dinosaurs that includes Dromaeosaurids and Birds, as well as other group such as Troodontids), reaching about 5.5 m in length and exceeding in size all other known Dromaeosaurids accept Utahraptor, which was similar in size and to which it is interpreted as being closely related. However while Utahraptor is interpreted as being a slow moving animal with a distinct morphology, Dakotaraptor appears to be essentially a scaled up version of the smaller Dromaeosaurids, and like them is thought likely to have been a highly active predator (though unlike them it is not thought to have been capable of any form of flight, as in larger flying animals the wing must be scaled up relative to the rest of the body, while Dakotaraptor retains its proportions).

Skeletal reconstruction of  the most intact Dakotaraptor specimen based on available material for Utahraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Deinonychus, and Achillobator, demonstrating overall proportions and the large size of the creature. Preserved elements shown in insert. DePalma et al. (2015).

As such Dakotaraptor presents a significant expansion of the known Hell Creek fauna, which previously, as well as a range of herbivorous Dinosaurs, included small Dromaeosaurid and large Tyranosaurid pedators, but no carnivores of intermediate size, something that would be expected in a similar modern fauna. DePalma et al. also note that the discovered specimens of Dakotaraptor, which are all interpreted as being adults group into two morphologies, a more robust form and a more gracile (slender) form. These specimens could represent variations within a population, but DePalma et al. feel that it is unlikely that only the more extreme variations would be preserved with no intermediate specimens, and therefore suggest that the two morphotypes may represent a sexually dimorphic species (species in which one sex is notably more robust than the other). They further note that this interpretation fits with the often-made suggestion that Dromaeosaurids may have been pack hunters, living permanently in some form of family group.

Interpretation of Dakotaraptor as a living animal. Emily Willoughby in DePalma et al. (2015).

See also…

Zhenyuanlong suni: A large feathered Dromaeosaur from the Jehol Biota.

Dromaeosaurid Dinosaurs are among the closest non-Avian relatives of the Birds and show many similarities to the earliest members of that group, making understanding Dromaeosaurs important for understanding the origin of Birds. In particulary...

New species of Dromaeosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Utah.

Dromaeosaurs were small Therapod Dinosaurs, thought to have been the group most closely related to...

How did raptors use their claws? (and did it help them learn to fly?)

The Dromaeosaurs were a group of small, feathered dinosaurs closely related to the birds. They are commonly referred to as 'raptors' on account of an enlarged claw on each foot which was held clear of...

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A new species of Leptictid Mammal from the Late Eocene of South Dakota.

Leptictid Mammals appeared early in the post-Cretaceous radiation of Mammals, and persisted till the Oligocene. They may have been distant relatives of the Rodents and Primates, though some authors regard them as being the earliest group to break of from the other Placental Mammals. They were small Mammals, the largest reaching about 90 cm, and appear to have been primarily insectivorous in diet. Many Leptictids had reduced forelimbs, and are thought to have had a hopping gait similar to Kangaroos or Jerboas.

In a paper published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica on 17 August 2011, Terence Meehan of the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Larry Martin of the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center at the University of Kansas, describe a new species of Leptictid Mammal from the Late Eocene White River Group of South Dakota.

The new species is named Megaleptictis altidens, where 'Megaleptictis' means 'Large Leptictid' and 'altidens' means 'tall-toothed'. The species is described from a nearly complete skull and mandibles, with most of the teeth intact. The skull of Megaleptictis altidens is large for a Leptictid, the snout broad, and the teeth higher and more heavily worn than in other comparable species. 

Megaleptictis altidens (A1), skull in dorsal view, note the postorbital constriction of the parasagittal crests; (A2) lateral view, the teeth and rostrum are tall; (A3) stereo pair, ventral view; (A4) occipital view. A portion of the supraoccipital region is broken away. Scale bars are 10 mm. Meehan & Martin (2011).

Megaleptictis altidens. (B1) Left dentary in lateral view; i2–m2 are well preserved, except for the  fractured crown of p3; the base of i1 and posterior talonid of m3 are present; the posterior ramus is broken away, except for a portion of the condyloid region shown in its approximate position. (B2) Occlusal view of mandibles placed in articulation. (B3). Right dentary in lateral view; complete p3–m2 and the fractured bases of i2–p2 and m3 are present. Meehan & Martin (2011).

The higher teeth and increased dental wear of Megaleptictis altidens compared to other Leptictid Mammals, and indeed other insectivorous Mammals in general, suggests tat that their diet may not have been the same as that of other members of the group. The modern Sengis (or Elephant Shrews) of Africa are often considered to be a good ecological model of for the Leptictids, and also have high teeth. However the fossil record of Sengis suggests that they have only adopted an insectivorous lifestyle quite recently, and that the higher teeth may be a relict from a previous plant-based diet. 

High teeth and heavy dental wear are typically associated with a diet high in plant matter, and the teeth of Megaleptictis altidens show adaptations apparently converging on those of Lagomorphs (Rabbits). This strongly suggests that Megaleptictis altidens may have had a large amount of plant matter in its diet. The late Eocene was a time of drying climate, and increased seasonality, and Megaleptictis altidens probably had to contend with a long dry season when Insects would have been scarce. Meehan & Martin suggest that this increased seasonality and scarcity of Insect food may have caused Megaleptictis altidens to change its diet, consuming a higher proportion of plant matter than earlier Leptictids.

See also A new species of Fox from the Pleisticene of Gauteng Province, South Africa, A new species of Desmostylian Mammal from the Late Miocene of Orange County, California, A new species of Hyaenodontidan Mammal from the Early Eocene of France, A new species of fossil Pig from the early Pleistocene of Ethiopia and A new species of Red Toothed Shrew from the Early Pleistocene of Poland.

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A new species of Platygastrid Wasp from South Dakota.

Platygastrid Wasps (Platygastridae) are small (1-2 mm), exclusively parasitic black Wasps that target Gall Midges, Beetles, True Bugs or occasionally Spider. They are widespread around the world, with over 4200 described species, which probably only represents a fraction of their diversity, since they are typically only noticed when they target species considered agricultural pests.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 19 March 2013, Paul Johnson of the Insect Biodiversity Lab at South Dakota State University, Peter Buhl of Ølsted in Denmark and Veronica Calles Torrez, also of the Insect Biodiversity Lab at South Dakota State University, describe a new species of Platygastrid Wasp, discovered during a study of the Gall Midge Chilophaga virgati growing on Dakota Switch Grass.

The new species is placwed in the genus Platygaster and given the specific name  Platygaster chilophagae, a reference to its host. It is a 1-1.25 mm black Wasp, found parasitizing a serious pest of Dakota Switch Grass, both for the damage it causes itself and for a fungal infection that it spreads. However it cannot be determined that the Wasp is a potential biological control of the Gall Midge, since while the Midge are typically specific to their host plants, Platygastrid Wasps will often target a range of species.

Platygaster chilophagae, female, body in dorsal view. Scale bar is 100 μm. Johnson et al. (2013).

See also A Chalcid Wasp from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, Four new species of Wasp from Cretaceous amber, Two new species of Potter Wasps from Yunnan Province, China, An early Woodwasp from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil and A new species of Chalcid Wasp from the Western Ghats of Kerala State, India.

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Earthquake in South Dakota, 9 August 2011.

At 2.45 pm local time on Tuesday 9 August 2011 the city of Pierre, state capital of South Dakota, was shaken by a small earthquake. Residents reported feeling shaking and hearing several loud booms. According to the United States Geological Survey the quake took place roughly 1 km west of the city, at a depth of about 15.6 km. It measured 3.4 on the Richter Scale. The U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers is conducting a check on the Oahe Dam, 8 km upstream from the city on the Missouri River.

Pierre, South Dakota.

South Dakota is located in the central part of the North American continent, far from any plate margin. It does have some faulting, associated with the uplift of the Rocky Mountains far to the west, which cause the occasional minor earthquake. Earthquakes were recorded in South Dakota in 1872, 1877, 1879, 1895, 1911, 1915, 1928, 1938, 1946, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. No major damage or serious injuries have ever been recorded.

See also Earthquakes in the Gulf of California and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts Youtube.