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Category: Meetings

VicPS Chair’s Message to Start 2026

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to 2026!  Attached is the VicPS schedule of events for 2026.  

FIELDTRIPS:

This year, we’re doubling up on fieldtrips, with twice as many on the roster compared to last year. Thanks to John Kitson for committing to these extra trips.

For those new to VicPS, fieldtrips are on Sundays (less traffic) and the time indicates when we leave/return to the Helmcken Park & Ride on the Island Highway.  For those without vehicles, we arrange carpooling from the park & ride, which is accessible via transit.

Fieldtrip locations are chosen based on tides and river levels, with beach visits generally April thru July and river sites generally June thru Sept. Higher elevation sites are reserved for months when weather and tides are not favourable. We usually take a hiatus from fieldtrips in Dec/Jan. 

Fieldtrip dates, times and locations are subject to change based on weather and times; logistics, along with site details, are confirmed via email in advance of each trip. Fieldtrip invitations & details are sent only to those who have renewed their annual dues by the January 31st deadline (details below).

MONTHLY MEETINGS:

Monthly meetings are generally the second Tuesday of the month, with hiatus in the summer during peak fieldtrip season. Monthly meetings are subject to cancellation if we do not have a speaker or a topic of interest to discuss. 

Last year we had a wonderful run of workshops, thanks to leaders Marji Johns and Thor Henrich, and those continue to be a possibility if other leaders step forward.

PUBLIC DISPLAYS:

The annual Fossil Fair to display our fossil collections for the public will take place at Tillicum Mall for the second year in a row. More details on that leading up to March break, but please consider booking a table and displaying your material to augment the fair, or volunteer to run an activity.  We have microscopes for a cool microfossil display but haven’t been able to do that in a few years, so the more volunteers we have, the more creative things we can do to show the public the cool history below BC!

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES:

It really helps with administration when dues are paid by the JANUARY 31st deadline, as our Society is required to remit a portion of dues to the BC Paleontological Alliance in early February.  I thank you in advance, and note that dues can be paid by e-transfer to victoria.palaeontology.society@gmail.com, or by cheque to: 

Treasurer
Victoria Palaeontology Society
4034 Hessington Place
Victoria, BC, V8N 5C6

On February 15th, names of those who have not renewed membership for 2026 will be removed from the distribution list, and access to the resources in the member’s area of the BCPA website will cease.  A few reminders will be sent throughout the month, for your convenience.

We look forward to what the earth will reveal to us in 2026!

(VicPS Chair) Jerri Wilkins

VicPS meeting: Thursday, Nov. 27, 7 pm

Monthly Meeting Topic: ‘Finding Footprints:  They Are Out There!’

Please note that the monthly meeting that had been scheduled for November 12 has been moved to November 27 to accommodate our speaker’s schedule. This meeting will be online only. VicPS members will receive connect instructions by email.

Footprints of dinosaurs and other ancient creatures are being discovered elsewhere in BC, so why not at our usual sites here on the Island?  What do we look for, and how do we know these traces when we find them? 

Please join us online Thursday, November 27 when special guest Elaude Koenig MSc Student, UVic School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, will help us to begin our journey to understand, appreciate (and maybe even find!) these traces of ancient life. Every journey begins with a single step; we look forward to Elaude helping us take ours! 

An example of tracks that are “out there”, as captured by a Facebook user here https://www.facebook.com/groups/745744520563481/posts/1306392691165325/ in September of 2025.

Going forward, VicPS plans to return to in-person meetings resuming in January (as we usually do not have a December meeting).

Dr. Melina Jobbins speaks on Placoderm Fishes, Nov. 26, 7 pm

The Vancouver Paleontological Society has invited us to attend a virtual presentation by Dr. Melina Jobbins, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Palaeobology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Jobbins, originally from France, has spent her academic career in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada.
Her research focuses on the Placoderm Fishes, some of our oldest bony ancestors. These ancient fish provide insights into our understanding of the origins of jaws, teeth, bone and other vertebrate structures.

Further details are available on the Vancouver Paleontological Society’s website.

Topic: Dr. Melina Jobbins speaks on Placoderm Fishes
When: Nov 26, 2025 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
Https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84187022894?pwd=cfhafVtL6CVIkh6ZIxxKjZ1OsL4hRB.1
Meeting ID: 841 8702 2894
Passcode: 776834

VicPS meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7:30 – 9 pm

At this next meeting, our VicPS vice-chair Sandy M. S. McLachlan will speak to his paper “Additions and revisions to the inflated Pachydiscidae from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) strata of Denman and Hornby islands, British Columbia, Canada; taxonomic implications and insights into mode of life.”

Sandy’s pachydiscid study, published in Journal of Paleontology, 1–2,  is open access and can be read at: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2025.10105.  An introductory guide to ammonite terminology (in final draft) will be shared prior to the Oct. 8th presentation to assist newer members with scientific terminology.

This paper, which is a study of a group of conservative ammonites from the Late Cretaceous that lived approximately 90–66 million years ago, allows for greater refinement of age placement and paleoecological interpretations. Over 100 specimens were examined from the Nanaimo Group rocks among the Gulf Islands of southern British Columbia in the eastern North Pacific. A reappraisal of this group addresses the range of variation within several forms, proposes a consistent framework of diagnostic characters, and sees the erection of a new species with description of the full development from juvenile to adult. Exclusive death assemblages of the new species support the inference of a gregarious mode of early life.

The meeting is in-person and on-line.

Physical Address: 

Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd. (office of Ed Davies, Paleontologist and VicPS member)

2680 Seaview Road, Victoria, BC.

Park in the driveway, or on street if driveway is full.

Online Access (open to the public): 

Zoom (7:30PM PDT)

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88390132369?pwd=0SxRq94aGGWp7mlxxZdhvq9PwwGxac.1

Meeting ID: 883 9013 2369

Passcode: 413249

September 10 Meeting Highlights

Some notes from the Sept 10th VicPS meeting held at the office of Edward Davies, Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd.

This unusual find from the motocross site in Nanaimo is about the size, shape, and texture of a fish jaw (unconfirmed). Congratulations to the member who found this unusual specimen!

Another noteworthy find from that location is the crab Bicornis-ranina bocki, named in 2008 by Torrey Nyborg and John Fam (in honour of Nanaimo collector Peter Bock). Previously described from Northwest Bay locality and Inland Island Highway roadcut near Courtenay, this is perhaps the third known example from the motocross site in Nanaimo, which is older in age than the exposures at Northwest Bay. Again, congratulations to the member who found this well-preserved specimen.

Speaking of crabs, congratulations to Caleb Cliffold-Hoyle, who found this raninid specimen (below) at Northwest Bay. The specimen is thought to be a Joerinina (platys?). We will know for sure soon; this specimen is currently under study by Torrey Nyborg and John Fam and will contribute to a pending paper.  It’s wonderful when our discoveries have an immediate and direct impact on science and research!

Be on the look-out for scallop shells about a size of a fingernail. The one pictured here was found at Chemainus River in 2023 during the 14th BCPA Symposium fieldtrip. BCPA member Raymond Graham is seeking photos and locality information for these specimens, which are similar to ones found in Northern California described as belonging to Propeamussium (Parvamusseum)spp.by Sundberg in 1989. If you are not familiar with Raymond, reach out to me, and I’ll put you in touch with him. 

Some topics suggested for upcoming meetings include geology of different regions on the Island, biostratigraphic use of fossils, evolution of paleontology, and mollusc terminology. VicPS member Sandy McLachlan will give a talk in October about inflated ammonites from the upper Nanaimo Group rocks. Stay tuned for more information.

    VicPS Quarterly Executive Meeting: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025

    At this VicPS Quarterly Executive Meeting, your Society executive do the EXCITING work required to operate VicPS: manage the money, decide where to focus our energies for the coming year in ways they support the Society mandate, etc.

    For full transparency, these meetings are open to any Society member who wants to attend and observe.  A reminder notice will be sent in advance, and notes are shared with members following the meeting.

    APS presentation: Friday, Sept. 19, 6:30 PST

    On Friday, September 19th, at 7:30PM (Mountain Standard Time) or 6:30 PM PST, the Alberta Palaeontology Society has invited us to their presentation by Dr. Jessica Theodor entitled:  ‘New Species found at the John Day Fossil Beds’.    

    John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon preserves an amazing and colourful sequence of interbedded volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, with dramatic stratigraphy including flood basalts. The fossils preserved there range from the middle Eocene rainforest faunas and floras of the Clarno Formation Nut Beds (44 Ma) and the Hancock Mammal Quarry (40 Ma), the Bridge Creek Flora (33 Ma) and the Turtle Cove Unit of the John Day Formation (29 Ma), the Mascall Assemblage (15 Ma) and the Rattlesnake Assemblage (7 Ma).

    Recent work in the Turtle Cove Unit has yielded remains of two enigmatic insectivorous mammals, Cryptoryctes and Micropternodus.

    https://albertapaleo.org/events

    ZOOM LINK:

    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84197949921?pwd=IGD8LCDlri68xD6dWqr0TbK30BDXlV.1

    Meeting ID: 841 9794 9921
    Passcode: 507378
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    https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/84197949921/invitations?signature=qSAOdvLhUEsOjltJCZ4_jZHupYdSsq5D9OE9YP9vBSA

    VicPS meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7:30 – 9 pm

    We are grateful and excited to have a NEW MEETING SPACE!

    Paleontologist Edward Davies, Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd., has offered his office for us to gather monthly, share our fieldtrip finds, do research, and enjoy speakers.  Next Wednesday, our first meeting of the fall, I will review our activities over the summer, including the very successful 15th BCPA Symposium, followed by a review of specimens found on our summer fieldtrips. 

    Please join us in person and bring those specimens!  We will also discuss how we want to use our monthly meeting time over the coming year.

    The address is 2680 Seaview Road, Victoria, BC.  Park in the driveway, or on street if the driveway is full.

    For those who cannot join in person, we will link you in via Zoom and do our best to share specimens on screen.

    ZOOM LINK: Paid members will have received this in an email. Please look there for details.

    Symposium 2025: Registration Closing!

    Symposium 2025 is almost here! 

    The Organizing Committee is pleased to confirm all speaking slots are filled and the presentations look fabulous. Registration continues until next Thursday. 

    Attending Symposium? Artist Ray Troll will be unable to speak at the Symposium Banquet, in-person or virtually, as advertised. In his place, Pat Trask, Museum Curator of Natural History at Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre, will share the journey of the baby Elasmosaur from its discovery in the Courtenay area to its home in the museum, and the marvelous things the specimen reveals. 

    Unable to attend Symposium? You can still benefit from a beautiful piece of artwork available for pick up at Symposium; a beautiful high-quality colour poster of three heteromorph ammonites from the Nanaimo Group.

    Order ahead for pick up at Symposium and avoid shipping charges (get a friend attending Symposium to pick is up for you), or have it delivered right to your home.  When ordering, select “local pickup” to save shipping costs if it’s being picked up at Symposium for you. 

    Image courtesy of and copyright of Connie Resch.

    See you at the symposium!

    A Summer of VicPS

    The monthly VicPS meetings are on summer hiatus and the focus is on fieldtrips, public education, and the Symposium.

    June 15 – Field Trip, TBD (Lead: Corbin Rolfe)

    Join Corbin Rolfe as he leads his first official VicPS fieldtrip!  Please look for an email from Corbin with details of the trip, closer to the date.

    June 22 – PUBLIC EDUCATION:  Cowichan Valley Nature Kids (lead:  Jerri Wilkins)

    VicPS has been invited back for a second year to provide a ‘fossil field day’ for kids in the Cowichan Valley. Last year our volunteers had a blast introducing kids to the ancient marine life on Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan. If you like participating in public education, Jerri will reach out closer to the date seeking volunteers. No experience necessary – we all learn by doing!  

    July 20 –  Field Trip (lead:  Jerri Wilkins)

    We’ll visit one of the most beautiful and productive sites on our annual field trip schedule, and one Jerri looks forward to visiting every year.  It’s a moderate walk and a good site for families, and for swimming (sometimes on purpose). Look for the invite closer to the date.

    July 24 – PUBLIC EDUCATION: Island View and You (lead: Carol Barbon)

    This is our annual opportunity to join the Capital Regional District and nature-based organizations for a day of public education focused on the past and present animals and ecosystems of Island View Beach (Cowichan Head) on the Saanich Peninsula. Closer to the date Carol will be looking for volunteers to hang out at Island View Beach for the day….tough job! If you attended the May 18th fieldtrip, this is your opportunity to test your memory by sharing knowledge with others.  Jerri know who you are… we will be in touch!

    August 10 – Field Trip (lead:  Jerri Wilkins)

    This site on the shore is easily accessible, and for those with patience and a good eye, it can reveal well-preserved gastropods and occasionally an ammonite.  Details will be provided in a fieldtrip guide closer to the date.

     August 21 – PUBLIC EDUCATION: Slithery, Slimy & Scaly (lead:  Carol Barbon)

    For this event, we join the Capital Regional District and nature-based organizations at Elk/Beaver Lake to talk about all things slithery, slimy and scaly. VicPS brings a new perspective to this annual event, exploring with kids why we don’t see snakes and frogs and lizards in the local fossil record.  Or do we? Volunteer to help Carol, and you’ll learn the answers. She will reach out for volunteers closer to the date.

    August 21-24 – BCPA-VIPS Paleontological Symposium 2025

    This bi-annual meeting of paleontological researchers is four days of all things paleo as it relates to Vancouver Island and BC.  Presentations on the latest scientific research, scientific posters, workshops and fieldtrips and lots of like-minded professionals and enthusiasts to meet.  Check out the details below, and sign up today:

    15th BC Paleontological Symposium 2025 v2 – Vancouver Island Paleontological Society