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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2019 Ancient ‘hyena-pig’ once roamed Oregon An extinct branch of ungulates By ERIN ROSS Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon’s weirdest pred- ator, the fi rst of its kind in the state, was found in a museum drawer. A piece of it, anyway. Hyena-pig. Murder-cow. With no modern analogue, scientists have resorted to combinations of common animals to describe it. Dug up decades ago in the Han- cock Mammal Quarry near John Day, the bone from this prehistoric creature languished, misidentifi ed in museum storage, until Selina Robson pulled it from its drawer. Robson wasn’t looking for a murder-cow when she found the specimen. It was a fossilized jaw, slightly smooshed, and it was huge: about the length of her forearm. It was labeled “Hemipsaladon,” a type of creodont, which were large, bear-like predators that roamed Oregon 40 million years ago. But Robson, at the time an undergrad student at the University of Oregon, had spent a lot of time looking at Hemipsaladon specimens, trying to identify one for a class assignment. “I looked at it and said, ‘This doesn’t look right. This doesn’t look right at all,’” Robson said. She set it near her spot in the lab, men- tally labeling it as “Weird Thing Found In A Closet” and left it there for a few months. Robson couldn’t get the massive jaw out of her mind, so she brought it to her instructors, Samantha Hopkins and Nick Famoso, and asked if she could take a crack at identifying it properly. She took the jaw to the Oregon Imaging Center next National Park Service The John Day mesonychid was initially misidentifi ed as Hemipsaladon grandis, another large predator that would have shared a range with the mesonychid. Oregon Public Broadcasting Teeth are great for identifying species. to her university and took a CT scan of the teeth. Teeth, Robson explained, are great for identifying species, because they’re so specifi c to diet. Robson took pictures of the specimen to conferences, compared it to other fossils and eventually submitted a paper on the fi nd. Science can be a slow process, so by the time the paper was pub- lished in June, Robson had started a Ph.D program at the University of Calgary in Canada. The results were in: The jaw was defi nitely not a bear-like Hemipsaladon; it best matched a creature called Harpagolestes uinten- sis, a type of animal called a mesonychid. It was the fi rst one ever found in the state. In fact, it was the fi rst one ever found in the Northwest. Mesonychid are an extinct branch of ungulates. Ungulates are still around today. We’ve all seen them. Cows, pigs, camels, giraffes, elephants, deer, sheep and all other hoofed animals are considered ungulates. Mesonychid, though, are arguably the weirdest ungu- lates to ever hoof it around North America. “It kind of looked a little piggy?” said Famoso, who is now the chief of paleon- tology and museum curator at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, where the bizarre jaw was found. “It has a pig-like skull and jaw, it had hooves. But it was defi nitely out there eat- ing meat and bone.” Famoso searched for a modern analogue. “Imagine a hyena, crossed with a pig. And that’s kind of what this animal would have looked like.” It would have had mas- sive jaws for crunching bones, and big, stocky mus- cled shoulders like a hyena. It also would have been about the size of a bear. As Robson put it, “terrifying.” It’s a bit weird to think of a meat-eating hoofed animal, though maybe it shouldn’t be. Modern pigs are voracious omnivores, willing to eat anything in front of them, whether it’s plant or animal. Hippos, though strict vegetarians, are deadly and aggressive. Famoso said that this specimen confi rms that the area around mod- ern-day John Day was once capable of supporting at least two large predators, both the mesonychid and Hemipsaladon. Until now, only one mesonychid had been found on the West Coast, a lone specimen in Southern Cali- fornia. The rest were found around the Great Plains, New Mexico and in Asia. That means that this John Day mesonychid fi lls an important gap, said Saman- tha Hopkins, a paleontolo- gist at the University of Ore- gon. The only way these species would have trav- eled from Asia to the plains or New Mexico is through a Northwest route. Now, fi nally, there’s a specimen from the middle, connecting the dots. “It’s always nice when you say, ‘This animal ought to have been here,’ and then when you look for it, it actu- ally is,” Hopkins said. In the 1950s, when this specimen was most likely excavated, it would have been nearly impossible to identify. Only modern tech- nology allowed Robson to look past the jaw’s crushed exterior to the teeth beneath that helped her identify the specimen. And there are millions of specimens like this one sitting in museum collec- tions all around the world. They’re just waiting for the right person, with the right tools and expertise, to take a look. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 September 2, 1931 - May 8, 2019 Herbert Wil l iam DeMan d er Jr ( Bi l l ) Bill DeMander was once asked by his father to help build a chicken coop in their back yard. Ever ready to lend a helping hand and offer up his time, he was proud to serve anyone who asked. Bill was happy to discover that the hard work he put into building such a sturdy and square coop can still be appreciated today. If you happen to visit Espanola, WA, you can find this perfect example of his giving spirit and work ethic 74 years later. Herbert William DeMander was born to loving parents, Herbert William DeMander Sr. and Mary Margaret (Siegworth) DeMander, on September 2, 1931 in Olympia, WA. His family moved from Medical Lake to Espanola, Washington when he was school age. He grew up with his sister Alice DeMander, who past before him, in a charmed neighborhood, watched over by Mildred Nickeson, a neighbor, who loved Bill very much. Later, after his mother had passed, Mildred had the pleasure of becoming his step mother, and grandmother to his children. At age 15 he went to Montana to work for the Great Northern Railroad. He became an electrician in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1949. He served on the USCG Cutter Winnebago as a marine electrician, and experienced tours to Japan and Korea. He received the Korean Service Medal, United Nations Medal, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. Bill separated from the U.S. Coast Guard in July 1952, he spent the next 6 weeks riding his motorcycle and raising heck, until a fateful day in the fall of 1952 when he met the love of his life, and found his compass. Bill married Dalene Ruth Jenks On January 31, 1953. For the next 5 years he spent time working hard with Bill’s Hi Power Service, and then became a police officer for the city of Spokane, WA. Bill also earned his pilots license, bought an airplane, and joined the Air National Guard of Washington, and the Air Force Reserves as an electrician. After close to 6 years of marriage, the end of 1958, Bill and Dee started a family with their first child Diana Lynn. She was followed, in January, 1961 by their second daughter Debra Lee. This same year Bill left the Air Force reserves and re-enlisted in the US Coast Guard and was brought to Astoria with the USCG Cutter White Bush. During this time, he received the National Defense Service Medal. When his Coast Guard duty was over, his lovely bride helped him finish his GED test to join the City of Astoria Police Department in 1964. Bill often rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle as a police officer. In 1970 Bill and Dee welcomed a most unexpected and happy blessing, their son, David William. As the years went on, Bill built and worked Bill DeMander Service (in Jeffer’s Garden), and at the Astoria Fire Department. Bill helped drive the first ambulance for the fire department. At that time, the goal was to get the patient to the hospital as quickly as you could. Bill owned a 6 pack “puker boat”. In 1976 he graduated, along with his eldest daughter. As she earned her High School diploma, Bill earned his associates degree in Fire Science from Clatsop Community College. Bill also received his advanced welding certification. He later worked many years as a plant manager at Pacific Coast Seafoods. Bill had a deep fondness for poker, WWII memorabilia and animals. He also enjoyed classical music, classic country music, talk news radio and creating helpful inventions. At times in his life he was heavily involved in the American Legion Post 12 and after his son David returned from the gulf war they joined Veterans of Foreign Wars together. Bill has always been a very hard worker, and happy to be a part of something that helps others. Bill was very generous and if you were blessed to be a poker night buddy, a loved one or a friend, he has likely shared something with you, it might have been a mix tape of the music he liked, or a thoughtful gift or invention he found helpful. He may have fixed your car or corrected a wiring issue. Bill had a very large collection of anything WWII and specialized in German Lugers. He enjoyed showing his friends these special memorabilia. If nothing else, he would share a funny joke. Bill lost Dee in November 2015 and has missed her every day since. He had a lot of peace in believing that life after death is eternal, and that his beautiful bride of 63 years would be waiting for him in heaven, as well as his parents, especially his father, who he talked about often as his life on earth came to an end. Bill’s final years were spent as he lived, ready to lend a hand and build a chicken-coop with care. Bill made new friends in his retirement community and was always willing to lend a helping hand to friends who lived along side him, He carried meal menus on him at all times, snacks for peoples dogs, ordered supportive items like coffee cup holders for walkers and light stands with a large magnifying glass to go by people’s recliners, and placed an ever stocked box of chocolate on his kitchen counter for anyone visiting his apartment in Kent WA. Bill is survived by his daughters Diana (Tom) Coryell, Seattle WA area, Debra (Ruben) Torres, Phoenix AZ area, and son, David (Amy) DeMander Astoria OR, and 2 honorary children, Lois Latvala Astoria Or and Chris Davis Knappa OR. Please help us remember both Bill and Dee DeMander, with a BBQ and toasts on Saturday, July 20, at 2:00pm, at the Netel Grange out past Lewis and Clark School 90525 Logan Rd, Astoria Oregon Bill and Dalene will be interned at Spokane Memorial Gardens next to Dee’s parents, brother and near Bill’s parents. This remembrance of Bill DeMander’s life was lovingly written by his grandchildren: Jacob Meyer, Briita Allgeyer, Tessa Coryell, Van Coryell, Rylee DeMander and Trevor DeMander. Bill will also be missed by his 6 Allgeyer great-grandchildren, Abram, Roderick, Penelope, Scarlett, Callum and Freya.
