LYCOMING COUNTY, Pa. — David Broussard is an associate professor of biology at Lycoming College in Williamsport. Recently, he and a student made a huge discovery in our neck of the woods.
"We found some acanthodian jaws. Acanthodians are an extinct group of vertebrates commonly known as spiny sharks," Broussard said.
The jaw bone uncovered by Broussard and his student is approximately 362 million years old, predating dinosaurs.
"Geochronology—basically some geochemical types of analysis to figure out how old these rocks are. We can also compare plant spores."
A drawing shows what the spiny shark was believed to look like. In years prior, similar jaw bones have been found in Lycoming, Bradford, and Tioga Counties.
"In the late Devonian period, some of these sites were underwater, whether it was marine or freshwater. There were freshwater streams, rivers, flood plains, and those kinds of things. Those types of signatures are preserved in the rock record," Prof. Broussard explained.
Sage Kennedy accompanied her professor on the discovery. The junior student from Montoursville majoring in biology is currently in Montana digging for dinosaur bones and was unable to talk with Newswatch 16. Her professor says she played a big part in this discovery.
"Not only did Sage help me with the fieldwork, but she produced the artistic reconstructions for the manuscript of the jaw specimens."
The jaw bone found by Broussard and Kennedy is now in a Philadelphia museum. More information on the find is posted here.
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