The Fossil of the Year is a skeleton of a small pterosaur which Georg August Goldfuß discovered in 1831, descriptively naming it Scaphognathus crassirostris. The drawing he made of it marked the inception of ‘paleo art’— defined as any artistic work that attempts to depict dinosaurs or other prehistoric life on the basis of scientific evidence—which remains highly popular today. An article from forsch 2021/01.
Georg August Goldfuß (1782-1848), Professor of Zoology and Paleontology at the University of Bonn, was the first person to prove that pterosaurs had hair, as evidenced by the small pterosaur fossil which he himself excavated from stone. University Draftsman Nikolaus Christian Hohe (1798-1868) then prepared drawing Goldfuß’ skeleton that represented a breakthrough of its own as one of the first-ever representations of a long-extinct creature depicted live within its habitat. Never before had such an artwork been included as part of a scientific publication.
Goldfuß attached the drawing to his initial description of the pterosaur in 1831. Hohe’s picture reveals a kind of hair on its patagia (wing skin) and in the neck area, which today are referred to as pycnofibers. Showing the lizard on a cliff reflected Goldfuß’ surmised conclusions regarding its habits, from which it rose into the air like modern bats do. The specimen at the Goldfuß Museum in Bonn shows residual patagia preserved in detail. The saur’s Latin name Scaphognathus crassirostris means ‘thick beak’, which the pterosaur in fact had, using its large skull and powerful jaws to hunt fish and insects, probably.
Paleo art is born
The awarding of the Fossil of the Year distinction commemorates the advent of paleo art in 1831— a genre which underwent several stages of an evolution of its own, from this original work by the University Draftsman on up to the Hollywood movies of today. Paleo art has inspired many generations to study the extinct creatures that once populated the earth. Dinosaur movies, cartoon characters ... it all got started with this initial publication.
The small pterosaur skeleton has been in the collection of the University of Bonn’s Goldfuß Museum ever since its initial description 190 years ago, which back in 1831 was part of the Natural History Museum extant at that time, founded in 1821. Now, right on time for the Goldfuß Museum to celebrate its 200th anniversary, the fossil is again being shown as part of Bonn’s traditional permanent collection, having come home after being loaned out on several occasions. Goldfuß had sent casts of the fossil to museums all over Europe and the world[PA1] , including the University Museum in Oxford and the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin, which remain in their permanent collections today.
Evolutionary evidence
Fossils provide unique evidence of how life on our planet has evolved. These demonstrate how such a broad diversity of organisms arose in the course of evolution, documenting the life forms that once existed. Many people are unaware that fossils can be of great practical value, such as for mining exploration and climate research. The Paleontological Society annually awards the title Fossil of the Year in recognition of the combined scientific importance and museum exhibition value of certain fossil specimens, thereby raising public awareness of the importance of paleontological research generally.