The DinoBase Public Forum

Well here it is as promised (if a few days late). As I mentioned before Rico kindly took time out to answer my questions on here as I thought it would be nice to get his story on the discovery of Raeticodactylus from scratch and to learn a bit more about him. There are some amateur fossil hunters out there who make genuine contributions to palaeontology (not just in discovery, but also in research) and Rico is one of those (and lets not discuss those who actively make research harder!).

I asked him about his route into palaeotnology, his record of collecting, his discovery, preparation and publication of Raeticodactylus and his life outside of palaeo. Although I have been hcatting to Rico about Raetico. and pterosaurs for 18 months or so now, I really don't know much about him, so it was actually of great interest to me to read his answers! I hope this will make for interesting reading.



- When did you first get interested in palaeontology?

The first time I became interested in palaeontology was when I found a fossil shell in the Swiss Jura. It was small and not very pretty, but it was a fossil. In this time I was going to the 4th class and I was perhaps 10 years old. My teacher had told us about a cave in our region, where many bones of the cave bear was found. So my dad and me we went walking to this cave high in the mountains, where I found four bone fragments and one tooth of a cave bear, and ever since this time palaeontology was in me.


- What else have you found apart from pterosaurs?

At first I was very interested in cave bears. I have found many bones and teeth of this fossil animal. Later I have searched for fossil material which was older. For the last 16 years I have searched for fossils from the Triassic time, so I have a collection which is typical for this time. There are many fossils of invertebrate fauna (shells, brachiopods, corals, echinids) and vertebrates, so teeth and scales of fishes (Hybodus, Acrodus, Polyacrodus, Sargodon, Lepidotus, Birgeria, Saurichthys etc.) and bones and teeth of placodonts, ichthyosaurs and other animals. 


- Where do you like to search for fossils and what is it like?

Since I started to search in Triassic rocks I search only in the region I’m living in. The points where I find fossils are high up (between 2200 and 3100 m above sea level) in the mountains in the alps of the Canton Grisons (Switzerland). So it is only possible to search for a few months in year, and as soon as the snow has melted I can being to search. All year I visit the same localities and some other new localities. Only those who are searching extensively will be able to find something. And it is very important to visit the same localities again and again because every time it is possible to find something new, what I haven’t seen before. Normally I go alone up in the mountains and occasionally my wife accompanies me. Sometimes it is a little bit lonely, but I enjoy this situation, so I have also a lot of time for myself. I can concentrate myself to the natural world. It’s the best time of the year.
To reach the localities is not very easy. It is not possible to drive with car to reach it, so it is necessary walking several hours to the localities I prefer. Sometimes I bivouac in the mountains so that I have more time to spend in the high mountains.


- What are the rules in Switzerland for collecting? Can you keep everything you find? Are you allowed to sell things?

Normally it is allowed to search fossils and when you have found a fossil then you can keep it and you may sell it if you wish. But if it is a fossil that is valuable to science the owner of the fossil is the Canton (Swiss region) where the fossil was found.
(DH note: this is quite similar to the situation in Bavaria and thus part of the issue with the Thermopolis Archaeopteryx).
It is not permitted to dig for fossils, it is only allowed pick up fossils where they have fallen from the rocks. (DH note: and this is similar in parts of the UK)


- You must spent a lot of time on your palaeontology. How do you balance your teaching with finding time to collect and prepare your material?

Everybody who is searching fossils knows that searching and preparing take a lot of time. Time is a rare thing. I work as teacher in a private school. At home I have my family with two kids. And so I have only much time during the late evening but fortunately as a teacher I have long holidays during the summer so I take much time for searching in the mountains then.


- Where else would you like to collect? Is there any one place you would love to dig (like Hell Creek or Burgess Shale etc.)

As I was younger I had many dreams to go searching fossils in others regions of the world: searching mammoths in Siberia, searching for dinosaurs in the Gobi desert and in North Africa. But now I’m very satisfied searching in the beautiful mountains which I really love.   


- What do your family think about your hobby? Do they help you?

Before I have met my wife I have long searched for fossils and so she has came to know me with my hobby. It is no problem for her and I have a duty to my family that it will not be a problem for us and my wife has her own interests too. I think I could do much worse things. I think that she is happy that I have such a hobby. My daughter is 5 years old, my son is 3, and so they are too young for searching fossils where I go.


- What did Raetico. look like when you found it?

My first thoughts when I saw it was that the long bones look like bones from a pterosaur, but only for a few seconds because I have never heard that pterosaurs were found in this region and in this schistes. Pterosaurs were for me things from America. My second thought was that it would be something like Macrocnemus or so.   


- When did you realise it was a pterosaur?

The skull of Raeticodactylus was not visible initially. While I prepared the skull out of the limestone, I realised that the bones and the light skull of this animal was made for a light construction. And where is a light building very important – naturally for flight. And so I came back to my first thoughts that it would turn out to be a pterosaur.


- When did you realise how unusual a pterosaur it was?

As I finished the preparation of the skull there was the big bony crest on the snout, and then I have realised that this was unknown Late Triassic pterosaur.


- What did you have to do to prepare it? Was it difficult? Were you worried about breaking it?

I frequently prepare my own fossils with a formic acid. The preparation was not difficult to extract the bones out of the stone, because the stone was almost of compact limestone. Perhaps the only difficulty was with the slender bones. Yes, sometimes I worried that I could break the bones, but I was lucky.


- How hard did you find it to write a description for the first time?

I have written “papers” (not very scientific ones) before, and to write the papers then was not a very great problem so long I was writing in German. The problems began when I have translated it into the English language…(about my problem you know better).
(DH note: I helped Rico with his English and few other bits of the paper, but he deserves all the credit, I was basically acting as an editor).


- What research did you have to do for the description? Was it hard to get the necessary papers etc.? How long did you spend visiting collections and learning about pterosaurs? Which museums did you visit? Who did you get to help you?

First I searched the literature about the Triassic pterosaurs. I’m living in Chur and the Chur library is too small so that I could not get the literature I needed. It is possible to order the literature by the world-wide-web from the ETH bibliotheca in Zurich so I first ordered all important papers and books. I began reading and reading. And so I learned much about the pterosaurs, especially about the Triassic ones.
I visited the Paläontologisches Institute of the University of Zurich and the Bayerische Staatssammlung in Munich. I wanted visit the Museum of Bergamo, but I couldn’t get a response from them and so I let it be.
Especially in Munich I met people who are very friendly and who where very obliging in helping in different parts. Especially I want to mention the names of Oliver Rauhut and David Hone.
(DH note: I can hardly not butt in here and offer my thanks to Rico for his comments!).


- Are you pleased with the results? Do you want to publish more papers?

To publish the paper was a great experience. Yes, I’m happy with the result. For me the time from the end of the description to the print of the paper was too long. I think it was partly my fault due to the problem with the language, but sometimes I haven’t known, what is now, goes it on or not, and what the problems were…
Sometimes I have thought that I will go crazy with it.
But now it is finished and I’m happy! It’s not my goal to just publish one paper after the other, but I think if I have some other interesting finds then I will write another paper. At the moment I am planning a paper about some new isolated pterosaur pieces.


- What did you think of the meeting in Munich? Were you happy with the restion to your new find? What did people say about it?

David Hone had invited for the meeting in Munich and for me it was a great experience. The best was to meet a lot of very interesting people who works in palaeontology. The feedback about the Raeticodactylus was great. Different peoples told me that they never seen a pterosaur with such a primitive skull.


- What do you have planned in the future?

What the future will bring I don’t know. I will go on searching for new fossils. For me it is not important that I have a large collection at home, if I have finds which I don’t want describe by myself, it is better to make the fossils available to other palaeontologists. For me is an option to give my whole collection to an official Museum like the Bündner Naturmuseum in Chur. Discussions about this possibility have already started. I support the idea that fossils from the Canton Grisons stay in Canton.



Well, that is it for now. As I say, I was fascinated to hear many of the answers myself. It is great to see that not only has Rico donated his previous most important find (Raeticofdactylus itself) to his local museum, but is considering giving away his entire collection! The fact that he is devoted, not just to palaeontology, but to actual science and in keeping local fossils in local institutions for researchers to access is highly laudable. I wish him a long and successful career, and a great many palaeontologists could do worse than emulate his efforts.