Track of Giant Extinct Bird Now on Display at Western Washington University

Contact: Dave Tucker, WWU Department of Geology, (360) 734-9743 or Dave.Tucker@wwu.edu. 

BELLINGHAM – The fossilized footprint of an extinct six-and-a-half-foot-tall bird is now on permanent display at Western Washington University.

George Mustoe (left) and Keith Kemplin with the sandstone slab containing the giant extinct bird foot track that they discovered. The track is now on display on the first floor of the Environmental Studies building at Western Washington University.

photo by Dave Tucker

The bird, a flightless, 385-pound species called a Diatryma, wandered the muddy shores of the region's rivers about 50 million years ago. The single three-toed footprint measures 10 by 11 inches and is the world’s only authenticated Diatryma track. The trace fossil was identified by Western Washington University paleontologist George Mustoe.

There are also other bird tracks on the slab; most of these are from unknown small wading birds, and measure only 1-2 inches across. There is a partial track of a heron-sized bird on one edge of the slab, and also a row of mammal tracks running down its center.

The new display also includes an earlier ‘footprint’ once thought to be from Diatryma, found near Auburn in 1992. Visitors can compare the earlier fossil with the new one and decide for themselves if they represent the same animal. Mustoe has also put up a new display of giant palm fronds and other fossils found in the Chuckanut Formation, and held by WWU’s Geology Department.

The WWU Department of Geology has one of the region’s largest exhibits of rocks and fossils, with interpretive displays in the University's Environmental Studies building that focus on the geologic story of the Pacific Northwest. The displays are free and open to the public seven days a week. The hallway displays are a popular field trip destination for preschool to college classes, visited by thousands of students, teachers, parents and individuals during each school year.

For more information on the Diatryma track, contact Dave Tucker at the WWU Department of Geology at (360) 734-9743 or Dave.Tucker@wwu.edu.