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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.