A team of professional paleontologists and eager volunteers from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) and Sea Center recently excavated the skull and numerous other fossilized bones of a small baleen whale from the Miocene Epoch (16.5-13.5 million years ago). Fossil enthusiast and geologist Chris Driesbach discovered the unusually complete specimen on the Gaviota Coast and alerted the Museum to its presence.
With permission from the Coastal Commission, the California State Lands Commission, and Santa Barbara County agencies, SBMNH Dibblee Curator of Earth Science Jonathan Hoffman, Ph.D., led the crew in studying the site and excavating the fossil. The specimen was freed from the surrounding shale of the Monterey Formation in blocks totaling over half a ton in weight, which were transported to the Museum to be prepared for further study. The largest blocks were transported by Aspen Helicopters of Oxnard, which has experience partnering with the Museum to airlift fossils from difficult terrain on public lands.
The excavation crew’s work was strenuous. In addition to chiseling away hard rock, each day they shoveled away over 60 cubic feet of wet sand to expose the specimen, which lay in the tidal zone. “Every single morning, we had to locate the specimen and dig it out, before we could start the actual excavation work,” reported SBMNH Curatorial Assistant Liz Flint.
Driesbach—who also participated in the excavation—vividly recalled the seasonal difference at the time of his discovery: “In the winter, the beach was completely cleaned of sand . . . I was going along the beach, sat down to take a rest, looked over and there’s an entire whale just exposed in the shale.” He instantly knew the completeness of this specimen made it potentially significant to science. “Mid-Miocene whales are pretty common,” but it’s rare for many bones to be preserved together. “You find a vertebra here, a chunk of a skull there. To see it all lined out like that is absolutely nuts.”
Moving the specimen to the Museum sets the stage for further study, reported Dr. Hoffman: “This really is the beginning of a long journey to learn more about the fossils and what the fossils can tell us about the environment at the time that the animal was alive.” Hoffman’s 2018 excavation of the first fossil sea cow from the Channel Islands is now bearing fruit in the form of peer-reviewed publications narrowing down the age and identity of that ancient marine mammal.
In the Museum’s fossil prep lab, Hoffman’s trained volunteers will soon begin to painstakingly chip away more of the stone surrounding the fossil. “It’ll be spectacular for volunteers to prep a specimen they personally excavated,” said Flint.
“None of this would have been possible without the cooperation of the State Lands Commission Office, California Coastal Commission, and County of Santa Barbara. Refugio State Beach graciously gave us room to land this flying whale. Colleagues from Channel Islands National Park even assisted with the airlift logistics,” said Hoffman.
"It was a collaborative effort, with 35 staff from both the Mission Creek and Sea Center campuses helping with various phases of the project,” Hoffman reported. “Add 30+ volunteers from the community—including students from UCSB and SBCC—and colleagues from the Alf Museum of Paleontology, and we have a lot of people interested in seeing this specimen recovered."
Since Dr. Hoffman’s arrival in 2017, the Museum’s Dibblee Geology Center has flourished. In addition to rebooting the tradition of fieldwork and organizing the extensive collection of fossils, rocks, and minerals, Hoffman has supported the Museum with the expertise to present a variety of popular exhibits related to geology and paleontology. It is hoped that in the years to come, the Museum’s core Earth Science exhibits will eventually include discoveries and ongoing work from the current era of productivity.
“We love working with the public to ensure that significant local finds are collected legally and made available for research and education,” says Hoffman. “Please contact us if you find a vertebrate fossil.” Vertebrate fossils are rarer and collecting them is tightly restricted. “Just don’t expect to find a dinosaur, since our region was underwater during the Age of Reptiles.”
Visit the Museum’s exhibits and sbnature.org/EarthScience for more information on the geology and paleontology of the Central Coast and the Dibblee Geology Center.
About the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Powered by Science. Inspired by Nature. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History connects people to nature for the betterment of both, drawing on collections that preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the Central Coast and beyond. Founded in 1916, the Museum is a private nonprofit supported in part by philanthropy, membership, and visitors. Members visit free. For more information, visit sbnature.org.
