Anthony Swinehart and his research in 2022. Courtesy | Anthony Swinehart
An ancient species of algae will now carry the name of Professor of Biology Anthony Swinehart, following his discovery of the fossil and publication of his research last month.
Swinehart discovered the Earltonella swinehartii in a quarry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2023. It lived more than 440 million years ago and developed an intricate design, before a large extinction event, according to Swinehart.
“We think that those changes were brought on by an increase in specialization of the herbivores like snails and things, and the complex branching in the algae may have, in some way, helped impede herbivory,” Swinehart said. “So, it adds a lot to our knowledge about how species evolved and adapted in this critical time period.”
Swinehart began visiting the Upper Peninsula in 2018 to search for fossils.
“Dr. Swinehart lives and breathes science, and this is reflected not only in his role as a professor and museum curator, but also in his hobbies including aquaria, model making, hobby farming, and even where he stops on vacation. ‘Dinosaur museums, anyone?’” said Matt Hoeing ’13, a former student of Swinehart. “He holds both himself and his students to very high standards when pursuing science, and it’s important to him that his students take the subject as seriously as he does.”
Swinehart’s fossil came in the form of a rock with the carbon residue of a soft bodied algae, which is rare in the quarry.
“Most people, when they think of algae, they think of just green slime,” Swinehart said. “These had blades and they looked like plants.”
Steve LoDuca, professor of paleontology, sedimentology and stratigraphy at Eastern Michigan University, was with Swinehart at the quarry the day of the discovery. LoDuca confirmed that the residue was algae. He published research about the fossil in August, and named the specimen after Swinehart, in the Journal of Paleontology.
Swinehart gave half of the original rock specimen to LoDuca and it is now at the University of Michigan. Swinehart’s half is on display at Hillsdale College’s Daniel M. Fisk Museum of Natural History.
“Dr. Swinehart is passionate about his work and so deserving of the honor of having a fossil named after him. He is very driven and an expert in his field of study,” said senior Arden Carleton, who is advised on her senior thesis research by Swinehart.
In 2021, Swinehart found another new species, the hickory tree carya pipecreekensis.
“All my life, I dreamed of describing my own new species that’s never been described before, and this was probably the best opportunity — maybe the only opportunity — I’ll ever have,” Swinehart told The Collegian at the time of the tree discovery.
Swinehart said he is honored that LoDuca named the fossilized macroalgae species after him.
“My dad recently died, and it’s his name too, so it’s a way to remember him.” Swinehart said. “My dad was so encouraging in terms of making sure I went to college and helping me through college. We weren’t rich, so there was a lot of sacrifice there.”
As a child, Swinehart said he liked to joke that he discovered a new species every time he found one he didn’t recognize, calling it “Swinehartii.”
“It’s a bucket list item that I never bothered to put on the bucket list because I figured it would never happen,” Swinehart said.
