- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Leave it to an eagle-eyed entomologist accustomed to searching for elusive bees to find it.
Emily Bzdyk, who holds a master's degree in entomology from UC Davis, is making national headlines, but not about insects this time.
Bzdyk is garnering widespread news coverage for discovering a 15-million-year-old dolphin skull along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland.
Bzdyk, a volunteer at the Calvert Marine Museum on Solomons Island, said she was combing the shores along the Calvert Cliffs on Saturday, Aug. 5, when she noticed what appeared to be a two-foot-long fossil bone in the shallow water.
It turned out to be a fossil from the Miocene Epoch, the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period. The Miocene epoch extends from about 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago.
Stephen Groff, manager of the Calvert Marine Museum's fossil collection, described it as “a really impressive find,” noting that “it's rare to find a skull in such good condition.”
Bzdyk estimated it will probably take a few months for her to clean the silt and clay from the fossil and prepare it for permanent public display at the museum. Visitors to the museum (open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) are watching her clean the fossil.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Emily received her bachelor's degree in biology in 2008 from St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM), St. Mary's City, where she minored in environmental studies and studio art. Her senior thesis? A Guide to Native Plants of Historic St. Mary's City, which she also illustrated.
Bzdyk returned to SMCM in 2016 as a visiting instructor of biology. She served as an adjunct faculty member until May 2019.
Her friends says she has an eagle eye for discoveries. She credits her entomological training with that. "Many years in entomology didn't hurt!"
NBCWashington.com headlined her fossil discovery as "Big Win: Woman Finds 15 Million-Year-Old Dolphin Skull Along Chesapeake Bay."
Mike Murillo of WTOP News, which serves the Washington, D.C., area, said that the "Dolphin fossil found in Calvert County could help 'write the books' on ancient marine mammals...It is not uncommon to find fossils from marine mammals. Dolphin skulls are typically found twice a year in southern Maryland. But this find, according to Groff, stands to be the most intact of the finds. It could also turn out to be a species that was previously not known about."
Murillo noted that "During the Miocene period, when the marine mammal swam the earth, the sea level was much higher, according to Groff. What is the beach now was once the ocean floor. Now, as the ocean is eroding away part of the beach, more fossils are being uncovered."
In addition to her interests in biology, entomology and paleontology, Bzdyk enjoys incorporating her scientific illustration and photography skills in her work. She served as a scientific illustration intern at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2008.
Bzdyk shares her interests in her blog, "Sentimental Entomologist" (Thoughts about insects, birds, nature and life) at http://sentimentalentomologist.blogspot.com/.
In her blog profile, she describes herself as: "I have always loved insects and I studied them in graduate school. Bees, to be precise. I focused my thesis on Litomegachile, a subgenus of Megachile leafcutter bees. I discovered a new species of bee, and published one paper on these bees before I hung up my scientist hat to become a stay at home mom. But that won't stop insects from finding their way into my life."
She also maintains an Instagram account on her discoveries at https://instagram.com/hastalishunter.
Meanwhile, Bzdyk's Facebook page, containing the links to the news coverage, is drawing scores of comments, such as:
- "You are so freaking cool. Awesome find."
- "Emily, I just watched the NBC clip. So excited for you!! What an incredible find—more specifically, what an eye you have for treasures below the sand!!!Have a wonderful adventure as you uncover more about your 15 million YO dolphin skull!!!"
- "They even got in a bug joke! Super cool." ("Entomologist by training, but been bitten by a different bug")
- "You're famous now! Can I have your autograph?"
- "Way to go, Emily! Super exciting!"
Bzdyk is a 2010 alumna of the globally recognized The Bee Course, an annual 10-day workshop sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and held at the Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Ariz. One of her instructors was noted bee authority Robbin Thorp 1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology. Thorp and Professor Neal Williams of the Department of Entomology and Nematology served on her guidance committee, along with research entomologist Tom Zavortink of the Bohart Museum.
Her husband, Troy Townsend, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at SMCM, received his doctorate in inorganic chemistry in 2013 from UC Davis. He studied biology and chemistry at SMCM, obtaining his undergraduate degree in 2007. The couple has two daughters, ages 6 and 9.
