The 15th BC Paleontological Symposium will take place this August 22 to 26 at the Florence Filberg Centre in downtown Courtenay. The Vancouver Island Paleontological Society, a charter member of The British Columbia Paleontological Alliance, is hosting this year with the support of the Courtenay and District Museum.
Summer’s here! Don’t miss your chance to book your spot on a world famous fossil tour guided by our Natural History Curator, Pat Trask. Tours will run from now until the fall, with public tours for families and school programming available for classes and youth groups. These tour options are the perfect outing for all ages, newcomers and returning enthusiasts.
It’s official! At long last, what was known as the Puntledge River elasmosaur now has its own scientific name: Traskasaura sandrae, named in its scientific paper published on May 23, 2025 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, by Dr. F. Robin O’Keefe.
As the warmer weather approaches, don’t forget to book your spot on a world famous fossil tour guided by our Natural History Curator, Pat Trask.
Zoophycos is a trace fossil. Trace fossils are the tracks, trails, burrows or other markings left behind by organisms in the sediment. Zoophycos feeding traces consist of radiating arc-like grooves and ridges which are termed spreite. The spreite are arranged in broad overlapping tongues and fans around a central vertical shaft or burrow.
It's been 37 years since an elasmosaur was discovered in the Puntledge River. Today, there are over a dozen different genera and several species of elasmosaurs found worldwide, and the Comox Valley elasmosaur is now considered a completely new genus and species among them.
Check out Courtenay Museum Natural History Curator, Pat Trask, as he talks about the Comox Valley elasmosaur in a recent Instagram reel by the Government of BC. The museum would like to extend a huge thank you to Hayley Antonissen and her video production team for making this happen!
People around the world have found ammonite fossils in ancient marine deposits for thousands of years. Ammonites had a many-chambered shell and are believed to be relatives of the octopus and squids that live today. Through time there were at least 10,000 and, possibly, up to 20,000 different species.
Courtenay’s very own Puntledge River elasmosaur is turning 80,000,036 this November! Join us at the museum on Saturday, November 16th from 11:00am – 2:00pm for a special birthday party for the elasmosaur and celebrate its official designation as the provincial fossil of BC.
Make the most of the fall season and book your spot on a world famous fossil tour guided by our Natural History Curator, Pat Trask. Our tours will continue throughout the fall, with school programming available for classes and youth groups. These tour options are the perfect outing for all ages of newcomers and returning enthusiasts.
