WPU Professor Discovers New Fossil, Names It After Colleague

WAYNE, NJ – After discovering teeth that belong to a new species of fossil stingray in southwest Arkansas, a William Paterson University adjunct professor named it after a colleague as a tribute.

Harry Maisch IV, who teaches environmental science at the Wayne college, unearthed the fossil stingray teeth while conducting fieldwork in February 2018 with William Paterson University Professor Martin Becker on a dry piece of land near Malvern.

Maisch named his find Hypolophites beckeri after Becker, his colleague and longtime mentor. The discovery dates back about 60 million years, a very important time in geologic history: right after the mass extinction of dinosaurs.

“It gives us many clues about how Earth and its species evolved,” Maisch said. “The geographic distribution of stingrays from Africa to the United States tells us that these land masses were once closer together, allowing these animals to swim between them, and attests to a uniformity of marine shelves between those areas.”

During the trip, Maisch collected various vertebrate fossils and brought them back to the lab for examination. While extracting and classifying the fossil vertebrates, Maisch found teeth that he knew belonged to a stingray, but was unsure of the species.

He returned to Arkansas for additional field work – to obtain more specimens and continue studying the field site – in November 2018. Lab processing of the sediment he collected, microscope work, photography, and species identifications began right away after that first trip and continued into spring of 2019, according to the college.

After further research and a behind-the-scenes tour of fossil collections at the American Museum of Natural History, Maisch realized the fossil stingray teeth he found, measuring just over 2 millimeters each, were unlike any of the four fossil species previously identified.

“I’ve been working in this line of research for more than 35 years, so this is an honor,” Becker said. “Long after I’m part of the fossil record, beckeri will live on."

“They always say gold is where you find it,” Becker added. “This was the right time in geologic time with the right geologic exposure. And in the end, you got the right guy on the job – Harry Maisch – to make this discovery.”

Maisch regards Becker, a National Science-funded researcher who studies fossil sea creatures, as his mentor. While attending Rutgers University as an undergraduate, Maisch developed an interest in Becker’s research at William Paterson University.

“I decided to send him an email, and he’s been my mentor and friend ever since,” he says. In 2017, Maisch was hired as an adjunct professor at the university Becker has called home since 2006. In 2018, Maisch earned his PhD from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center.

This spring, the best quality Hypolophites beckeri teeth will find their new home in the vertebrate paleontology collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Several undergraduate students pursuing degrees in environmental science at William Paterson University also played a role in the discovery, Maisch said.

“The lab work related to this project included going through the sediments I collected in the field, helping to sort the fossil collection, and examining different species under the microscope," he said. "It’s always great to involve undergraduates in these types of supervised research experiences."