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Published online 31 October 2007 | Nature 450, 18-20 (2007) | doi:10.1038/450018a
News Feature
Palaeontology: Tunnel vision
Is blasting into a river bluff any way to do palaeontology? Alison Abbott reports on an unusual expedition into the Alaskan wilderness in search of the bones of polar dinosaurs.
The rabid fox was almost the last straw. In the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, it was tugging at the guy ropes of the mess tent so ferociously that it had torn open its mouth, leaving a trail of bloody spittle across the snow.
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Dear Ms. Abbott, In reading your article, I find it curious that my 20 years of research involvement with the Liscomb bonebed was given so little attention. You do cite two published contributions with my name, there are many more, It isn't that I crave publicity or need a ego boost, but to almost dismiss my extensive contributions as the Principal Investigator, and curator in charge of the research, logistics, and collections since 1990 as well as my prior involvement since 1987 as co-investigator with Dr. William Clemens of the University of California Museum of Paleontology is a bit hard to swallow. Ms. Ruth Berry, much to her ultimate chagrin, also failed to truly consult with me prior to, and during the excavation phase. She simply inquired whether I thought the tunneling idea was scientifically worthwhile. As it turned out, she ran into a "buzz saw" of personalities as a result. Something that she was obviously not prepared for. You can Google my name to get a more balanced appraisal of my extensive history and affiliation prior to any of the other workers mentioned in your article. I was the one who invited both Tom Rich and Tony Fiorillo to join me in the important research on the Liscomb bonebed. Kevin May was a student and field assistant of mine. Ms. Berry seems to have underappreciated the work that Tom Rich and I had expended since 1994 to acquire acceptance and funding for the tunneling project. You and Ms. Berry have also failed to mention that the field research on the Liscomb BB was the subject of two previous published video programs---one that was privately released and one that was on The Learning Channel---Paleoworld. One would expect better background research on both your parts. I am presently retired,but am far from removed from the research on the Liscomb bonebed. Tony Fiorillo and I have an extensive manuscript almost ready for submission summarizing 14 years of field and lab research on this richest of polar dinosaur finds. I will be happy to elaborate and respond to any thoughtful inquiries concerning this matter. Sincerely, Roland A. Gangloff, Ph.D.