Tim Fedak PhD

@timfedak

Curator and paleontologist, promotes drawing for natural science in museums and universities, interest in history of geology, and urban geology. Website and Blog at Drawing in Geoparks

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Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· 5d

For #FossilFriday - a 300 million year old Neuropteris frond that was found yesterday during a site survey on the northern shore of #NovaScotia. Summer sunshine illuminates and warms an ancient fern leaf again after 300 million years. The beauty of natural history in this present moment. ⚒️

Dark brown rock with a fern fossil on the surface, being held in a hand in front of a beach blurred in the background. A burred orange and white dots at the top of the beach may be a person.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· 17d

I recognized MacAskill’s vantage point was at the East Bay geosite of the Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark, near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. So I visited the site, did a drawing and took a modern photo. #geoheritage ⚒️

Drawing of seascape and rock coastline, titled Glooscap’s Gate

Photograph of a drawing in front of a rocky coastline with Cape Split and Cape Sharp in the distance.

Modern photograph of a rocky coastline with linear sedimentary features and other shoreline in the distant horizon.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· 17d

W R MacAskill (1887-1956) was an award winning photographer when he had this photo titled “Glooscap’s Gateway, Nova Scotia”, published in The Saturday Evening Post @satevepost.bsky.social in May 1930.

Photograph of a rocky coastline with linear sedimentary features framing distant shorelines on the horizon

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Jun 12

The future is in books.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 26

Can someone help #translate this postcard sent by my grandfather to his Aunt, from Ukrainian to English?

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 22

This summer - you can see these and other mastodon friends at the Cape Breton Fossil Centre in Sydney Mines - in the Age of the Mastodon exhibit. On display until September. #CapeBreton

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 22

Everyone knows Gus and his good friend Root the Wood Turtle @mnhnovascotia.bsky.social - but did you know that the NSM Geology Collection also has 80,000 year old Wood Turtles from the mastodon sinkhole? Imagine putting these ancient puzzles together!

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 21

Two geology maps of #NovaScotia. The first is the full geology map of Nova Scotia, the second is what a palaeontologist sees - all the sedimentary formations with potential fossils. ⚒️. What do you see when you look at a geology map?

Geology map of Nova Scotia, with mosaic of colours, orange, green, light blue, yellow and pink, representing the distribution of rocks of specific types and ages.

Geology map of Nova Scotia with colours brown, yellow and light blue, distributed around the Bay of Fundy, North Shore and Cape Breton.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 14

Between 1828 and 1832, Charles Jackson and Francis Alger, two geologists from Boston, published the first geological map of #NovaScotia.

Map of Nova Scotia from 1832 with blue, pink, red and yellow watercolours showing types of rocks found. Titled - A New Geological Map of the Peninsula of Nova Scotia, with a Section"

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 14

In 1832, Jacob Green MD was the FIRST to illustrate and describe a fossil from #NovaScotia - Asaphus crypturus, a giant Devonian trilobite from #MooseRiver at #Clementsport. Green also made plaster reference casts shared with museums around the world. He obtained the fossi from Francis Alger.

Cover of historic paper titled "Monograph of the Trilobites of North America with Colored Models of the Species" by Jacob Green, M. D. 1832

Plaster cast of Asaphus crypturus, from Bristol Museums Collections.

Lithograph of giant trilobite fossil Asaphus crytpurus (Green)

Fossil of Asaphus crypturus in the Nova Scotia Museum colletions. 967GF176.001

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Apr 7

During today's tribute to Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues, Paul Olsen shared how Hans was able to identify the tooth of Oligokyphus within a few seconds of looking at a photo. Hans' knowledge was unparalleled, and he was always so supportive. ⚒️ @canjearthsci.bsky.social - dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2014-0220

Image of the fossil tooth and jaw fragment of Oligokyphus, from Wasson Bluff, Nova Scotia. From Canadian Journal of Earth Science.

Image of Hans Sues (left) and several of his favorite Nova Scotia fossils, Teraterpeton hrynewichorum, Hypsognathus fenneri, and Clevosaurus bairdi.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Mar 27

For #FossilFriday - spent a bit of time in the Dinosaur Exploration exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in #Halifax #NovaScotia.

Drawing of dinosaur skulls Plateosaurus and Coelophysis with skeletons in the background.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Feb 26

I was deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues. He has generously supported my work over the past thirty years and he made huge contributions to paleontology here in #NovaScotia. From 2021, a @novascotiamuseum.bsky.social showcase video youtu.be/AjzIuaQ-Qn0 - RIP Hans.

Photo of Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues and Tim Fedak, photograph of Teraterpeton skull, skull of Hypsognathus, and Clevosaurus, all from Nova Scotia.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Feb 6

#FossilFriday drawing of Plateosaurus skull and neck - on display in Dinosaur Explorations exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax. @novascotiamuseum.bsky.social

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Jan 21

On #museumselfieday saying hello to our OLD friend Hypsognathus in the Geology Collections of the Nova Scotia Museum. You can now say hello as well, with Collections Online at collections.novascotia.ca/object-nsm99...

Selfie of museum curator holding the small skull of Hypsognathus in his hand

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Dec 23

In case you might find this interesting, the "Science and Practice of Road Making", from The Bee newspaper, Pictou, Nova Scotia, January 1836. #urbangeology #historyofgeology

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Dec 22

This image is a highlight of 2025. It represents celebration of geoheritage, geodiversity, and community engagement. www.geodiversityday.org/post/geodive...

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Dec 5

Only those who were there, know how great an event this was. @jasonloxton.bsky.social

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Nov 14

A merry and very, very,... old #ChristmasTree. These #NovaScotia pine cones may be from the Cretaceous! Learn more at: museum.novascotia.ca/blog/very-ol...

Two fossil pine cones, about 6-7 cm long cones with scales. Specimen number NSM024GF32 and 1 cm scale bar.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Oct 9

A wonderful celebration of #GeodiversityDay in the Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark - ⚒️ see more and Like/Follow at: facebook.com/DrawingGeopa...

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Sep 25

Found this 80,000 year old seed in #MastodonMud at the museum today. Will it sprout? @novascotiamuseum.bsky.social

A small tan colour seed floating in water

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Sep 13

For #FossilFriday - ancient DNA shows the #NovaScotia mastodons are older than thought, and have migrated into the Atlantic region multiple times over the past 500,000 years. In Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... ⚒️

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Aug 28

On my desk for #FossilFriday - these small bones (Northern Leopard Frog) and the spruce cone being removed from a small block of 80,000 year old mud collected during the 1991 Mastodon dig. These have been in a freezer for over 30 years! Will the 80,000 year old spruce cone have viable seeds?

Thin white bone a few centimeters long in a dried grey mud, with a scale bar.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Aug 6

In Travels to North America and Nova Scotia (1845) Lyell published this lithograph of bird tracks in mud that he collected in 1842. Today, as I sit on this same shore, I can appreciate Lyell watching these delicate birds and thinking about deep time. #geoheritage

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Aug 6

The delicate bird tracks are from the small Semipalmated Sandpipers. While doing a drawing study, the birds ignore you and go about their business.

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Aug 6

Some nice high tide mud exposures with Raccoon footprints at The Port Pub in #PortWilliams #NovaScotia #PortWilliams

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Aug 6

Today - I'm taking a road trip to #Kentville #NovaScotia to search for tracks preserved in Bay of Fundy mud. In 1842, Dr. Webster sent samples of rain prints collected from the muddy banks of the Cornwallis River to Charles Lyell. The rest, is geological history! ⚒️ archive.org/details/quar...

Tim Fedak PhD@timfedak· Jul 18

Kissing fish! For #FossilFriday - the latest view of the Platysomid fish from the Early Carboniferous of #NovaScotia found by Dr Mo Snyder and Jesse Demaires-Smith from Acadia University is 2023. ⚒️ Fossil and counterpart - look like two fish kissing.