Pribilof Islands Historic Preservation and Environmental Restoration

Topics

Island Natural Resources
Fossils

Prehistoric mammoth remains have been found on St. Paul and St. George Islands (Preble and McAtee 1923, 119; Ray 1971). Research indicates mammoths survived on St. Paul Island about 2,000 to 3,000 years after their extinction in other parts of North America (Crossen et al. 2005; Guthrie 2004). Crossen et al. (2005, 463) and Guthrie (2004) attribute the mammoth’s extended survival on St. Paul Island to the island’s isolation and late discovery by humans. Mammoths survived on St. Paul Island as long as the land area provided for adequate forage and the population remained sufficiently large to prevent inbreeding (Guthrie 2004). Mammoth tusks are sometimes found on the beaches, such as North Beach (Preble and McAtee 1923, 119–120), and anecdotal reports indicated that one or more tusks were found in dredged spoils from St. Paul’s Village Cove. Mammoth teeth and bones have also been recovered from several lava tubes.

Dall (1899, 539–546) and others (Stanley-Brown 1892, 496; Dawson 1895; Hanna 2008, 235–241) discussed finds of marine fossils on St. Paul Island. On St. Paul Island, marine fossils were reported in sedimentary rock outcrops at Ardiguen Rookery on Reef Point, portions of Village Hill, and Tolstoi Point. In 1847 and 1848, Russian naturalist Elia Wossnessenski of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg recognized marine fossils in sedimentary rocks at Black Bluffs. Within fifty years, these exposed beds disappeared due to strong erosional forces. The fossil beds are known to remain subtidally, however, and the fortunate collector may still find examples cast up on the beach. Fossils imbedded in sedimentary rocks apparently became detached from the seabed during the volcanic eruption(s) that formed Black Bluffs (Dall 1899, 539–546). On St. George, fossil mollusks, fish bones, and diatoms were reported at Tolstoi Point. Fossil diatoms were also reported at Garden Cove. Sedimentary rocks were said to outcrop at Cascade Point, Big Cliffs, Staraya Artel Rookery, Dalnoi Point, and Zapadni, but they were not closely examined for fossils. Sedimentary rock was also reported on the west side of Otter Island.

Marine Invertebrates

Insects and Arachnids