February Meeting Report                                                                            

by Craig Tipton

The February 17th meeting at the

Parma-Snow Library was very well

attended by over 30 members and

guests.  President Dick Cole started

by conducting the business meeting. 

After announcements of upcoming

events and field trips, Craig Tipton

showed a brief set of electronic pictures

of the MAPS show in Macomb, Illinois

in the Spring of 2006.  Members were

encouraged to consider attending the

MAPS show at the end of March this year. 

After the break, the program was a lively talk by Dr. Joe Hannibal of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  His topic was "Tracking Giant Millipedes and other Non-Marine Animals in the Late Paleozoic of New Mexico - - - plus Some Other Related Stuff"  Dr. Hannibal described a number of classic locales where millipedes were found including the Gaskohle fauna of Bohemia in Czechoslovakia, the Mazon Creek fauna in Illinois, in Silesia in Poland, and Sparth Bottoms in Lancashire, England.  He described not only these Pennsylvanian and Permian locations, but also the body parts of the millipedes observed in fossils from these areas.  Types of millipedes described were Miriacantherpestes, Hexacontasoma carinatum, and Acanterpestes giganteus.  This all set the stage for his adventures in New Mexico with and tales of Spencer Lucas from the New Mexico Museum.  They made a millipede discovery in Canyon del Cobre or Copper Canyon.  One story related by Dr. Hannibal was about camping in the New Mexico wilderness with the museum group and the chicken breasts that had been brought for dinner without proper refrigeration.  In an effort not to be a "wimp" he ate the chicken and then suffered the consequences with the others.  The second story was on a day of collecting where he had stopped to rest on a rock outcrop in a wash near where others in the group were collecting.  Someone from above had to tell him he was sitting beside one of the largest millipede tracks yet discovered!  This trackway is now on display at the New Mexico Museum.

This was another great program and even though it lasted till 12:30 most stayed for the very end including a short question and answer period.