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mouthed bay of Lompoc now filled to the depth of 1400 feet
with pure diatoms, containing multitudes of fishes, bones of a
few birds, petrels and waders, an occasional porpoise, a very
few shells and sea-worms, but no crabs or sea-urchins.

For this extended work on fossils I was already
broken in, as twice before within fifteen years Dr.
Branner had brought from Brazil a very interesting
series of Cretaceous fishes which he turned over to
me for study. I know of no more brain-racking effort
than the attempt to make old bones live again, and
especially to restore in imagination missing parts so
as to figure how the creature looked in life. In the
Serra do Araripi (province of Cear) in eastern
Brazil is an ancient beach on which fishes were often
stranded at low tide, some four millions of years ago.
Becoming then enveloped in fine silt which dried in
the sun and gave them solidity, at next flood tide
they were buried by new deposits. In 1841 Agassiz
secured a number of these molds and described the
bones and scales of several encased fishes of different
species. Many similar concretions were found by
Dr. Branner. One of them, however, resembled a
baseball bat though flattened at one end so that
we suspected it of concealing a fish. Splitting it
carefully lengthwise we found this to be the fact;
and so well preserved was the ancient "Tenpounder"
that the black streaks along the sides were still
plainly visible. Often the encased animal was com-
pletely petrified -- bones, scales, and fins being turned
into stone.

Unique
and
amazing!

-711-

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Publication Information: Book Title: The Days of a Man: Being Memories of a Naturalist, Teacher, and Minor Prophet of Democracy. Volume: 2. Contributors: David Starr Jordan - author. Publisher: World Book. Place of Publication: Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY. Publication Year: 1922. Page Number: 711.
    
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