6-year-old finds rare fossil at Schramm

The rock didn’t necessarily seem special when 6-year-old Leo Youngdahl spotted it during a late summer Rafting and Rocks event at Schramm Park State Recreation Area near Gretna.

But it was a pretty large one, and he hoped if he turned it over, he’d find one of his favorite fossils on the underside, he said.

Instead of crinoids, though, he discovered a much rarer fossil: an ancient marine animal called a conulariid, a jellyfish-like creature shaped like an upside-down pyramid.

Conulariids lived in eastern Nebraska (and around the globe) 200 million to 500 million years ago. The state has few preserved as fossils; their soft bodies and thin skeletons typically broke apart and disintegrated too quickly for fossilization.

To Youngdahl, of Eagle, the fossil looked like a garter snake’s belly scales, so he promptly showed it to Kelly Ekue, Schramm Education Center outdoor education specialist.

“I’ve been leading programs at the outcrop for over seven years, and there are six main types of fossils we find,” Ekue said. “This fossil didn’t look anything like any of the species we see. It was larger and seemed fish-like, which was ‘fishy’ because we only have invertebrate fossils in the age of rock we have and vertebrates weren’t here during that period of time.”

So, she emailed a photo of it to a geologist connection, who immediately forwarded it to others, including Shane Tucker, a paleontologist with the University of Nebraska State Museum, and Bob Diffendal, geologist and professor emeritus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska State Museum curator of invertebrate fossils.

They identified the 2.75-inch fossil based on the herringbone-style imprint it left on the limestone — the only part of the animal fossilized. Researchers found the only other known Nebraska conulariids more than 55 years ago in Louisville and Weeping Water.

“It is really amazing that among all those rocks in the Schramm outcrop, Leo not only picked up this one, but recognized it as a fossil and thought to ask about it,” Ekue said.

From Youngdahl’s perspective, his find may be most special because he’s never seen a whole fossil before, let alone one this long. Still, he said he was told it’s “rarer to find than a mammoth bone.”

He doesn’t mind the fossil will stay at Schramm, where staff will use it for educational programs. The discovery continues a tradition begun by the park’s namesake, UNL geology professor E.F. Schramm, who donated land for educational use.

Youngdahl is just excited to keep searching for more fossils and nature finds.

He’ll carry the most special of them to Platte River State Park near Louisville where he’ll show them to his favorite naturalist, Heidi Swanson. They’ll share enthusiasm for the green flecks in rock, an interesting insect and the feel of a special piece of sea-weathered wood.

Youngdahl knows there is always something else to discover and wonder about. And his next find might just be more exciting than the last.

Kelly’s Nature-Observation Tips

The more time you spend in nature, the more you will discover, said Kelly Ekue, an outdoor education specialist at Schramm Education Center near Gretna.

“Delight in all discoveries, not just the big ones like a rare fossil, but the little ones, too,” she said. “A neat mushroom, a weird bug or a pattern in the clouds.”

Schramm Park State Recreation Area and the adjacent Schramm Education Center are great locations to explore. And Schramm’s outcrop, the exposed sections of bedrock, offers plenty of possibilities to observe treasures from the past — especially on National Fossil Day which is Oct. 14 this year.

The fossils at Schramm’s outcrop are about 350 million years old and from a time when Nebraska was covered by a saltwater sea.

Anyone who visits can look for the small marine invertebrates — most smaller than a penny — that lived there and are fossilized in the limestone, shale and sandstone.

Remember to:

• Bring a camera to take a photo of your finds. Collecting laws prohibit removing certain discoveries from nature, such as fossils, feathers and nests.
• Be aware of your surroundings and don't go underneath overhanging rocks.
• Use your eyes and hands as your tools; visitors may not use picks or shovels at the outcrop.

Learn more about Schramm at OutdoorNebraska.gov by searching for “Schramm Park.”