Andre Mueller poses for a photo at Dinosaur Park among the dig site where his team discovered a fossil from a never-seen-before species of dragonfly.--Submitted photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
A new species of Cretaceous-era dragonfly was recently discovered in Dinosaur Park by Medicine Hat’s own Andre Mueller and team.
The field course itself was conducted in 2023, in an area that had previously yielded several leaf fossils through cracking rocks, said Mueller. However, when a student approached him with an unusual specimen, it was immediately clear they had discovered something different.
“I get my little microscope there, have a look at it and lo and behold, it wasn’t a leaf,” Mueller told the News. “It looked familiar, but different enough that I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.
“But with more research, we did determine that this was, in fact, the partial hind wing of a dragonfly.”
Further research would discover that the surprise insect discovery was not only new to the area they were conducting the study in, but in fact, a brand new species of dragonfly previously undiscovered, and the first dinosaur-era dragonfly ever to be found in Canada.
“We were over the moon. Being able to see something for the very first time, discovering a species that you know no other human has ever laid eyes upon,” said Mueller. “That feeling, that’s once in a lifetime.”
He says it was immediately obvious the specimen was unique, with distinct and thick veining on the wings unlike anything seen in modern dragonflies. In fact, Mueller said that during the tracing and photographing of the fossil, the team initially thought it was a grasshopper wing until they were better able to see how the veins connected.
The dragonfly, dubbed Cordualadensa acorni, was given its own family due to how distinct its anatomy was, and was ultimately dubbed after University of Alberta lecturer John Acorn, known for his TV show “Acorn, the Nature Nut,” as an homage to the program which inspired so many young people to develop a curiosity and love for science and the natural world.
It is Mueller’s hope this tribute can serve as a small token of gratitude for all his contributions.
“It was so distinct, it’s so unlike anything we’d seen in dragonflies up until this point,” said Mueller. “It was interesting to see that, and going into the details of it, we realized this thing’s a missing link fossil; it falls in a gap in time, it fills in a 30-million year gap in the evolution of this kind of dragonfly.”
Mueller was thrilled to be able to contribute to a clearer image of the ecosystem during this time period, especially in an area so close to home. Born and raised in Medicine Hat, Mueller attended Monsignor McCoy High School before going to McGill University in Montreal, where he is now pursuing his Masters of Science in Biology.
As he continues to work on other potential findings, he is grateful for the incredible stroke of luck to be able to discover this fossil. It required several things to go right in order to have the small fragment, roughly the size of his thumb, to be in good enough condition to confirm what they found.
The dragonfly itself would have had a wingspan roughly the width of the palm of a hand, or a modern smartphone.
“I was a dinosaur kid back in the day, I loved growing up so close to these museums and everything, being able to, like many kids in Alberta, knowing dinosaurs were basically in your real backyard,” said Mueller. “Being able to see things at a young age was very inspirational for me.”
Being on the forefront of research and potentially inspiring youth the way he was inspired is what serves as his motivation, says Mueller.
“The inspirational value that paleontology has for inspiring people, especially young kiddos, to pursue sciences, to go out and to be curious about the world, that’s really what keeps me going,” said Mueller. “I just want to inspire and bring joy to other people’s lives.”
