Michael Wachtler

Michael Wachtler (born 2 February 1959 in Innichen, South Tyrol) is an author and researcher from South Tyrol.

Life

During his university years, he participated in mountain expeditions. Crystals and petrified fossils, in particular, sparked his interest. His teacher, Nolli Huber, fell to his death in 1984 while they were searching for crystals together. From 1980 to 1990, he was involved in the founding of the "Pustertaler Zeitung" and the "Rundschau von Vinschger", both of which are newspapers from South Tyrol.(1)

During this time, he successfully published his first books and documentary films about the lives of crystal hunters in the Alps and the history of the Dolomites' formation.

Beginning in this period, Michael Wachtler recovered fossilized primitive cycads and conifers from the Triassic. He collaborated with the Dutch professor Han van Konijnenburg – van Cittert in describing these discoveries in 2000. [2]

In 1998, Michael Wachtler discovered the new fossil site Kühwiesenkopf and Piz da Peres. Based on the Kühwiesenkopf site, Michael Wachtler recovered a portion of a reptile later described by Silvio Renesto and Renato Posenato as Megachirella wachtleri. It is now considered the ancestor of all squamates, including snakes and lizards. It was soon classified as the "Garden of Eden of primitive times".(3)

In the mountains of Trentino, Michael Wachtler, in cooperation with the woodsman Fèro Valentini, discovered the new fossil site Tregiovo in 2012, containing enigmatic fossils. 275 million years ago, numerous unknown plants and footprints of lacertoid reptiles were deposited there.

Megachirella wachtleri

In 1999, Michael Wachtler recovered a partially preserved reptile skeleton from the Kühwiesenkopf (Prà della Vacca) in the Pragser Dolomites. It was later described and named by Silvio Renesto and Renato Posenato in 2003 as Megachirella wachtleri. (4)

Immediately, the importance of this fossil was recognized as belonging to the crown group of squamata and also the lepidosauromorpha. However, only in 2018, a group of scientists under the overall direction of Tiago Simōes were able to classify Megachirella wachtleri as the oldest known stem squamate using new high-resolution microfocus X-ray computed tomography data. (5)

The more than 242-million-year-old fossil, Megachirella wachtleri, is the oldest known ancestor of all modern lizards and snakes, including iguanas, chameleons, and geckos—collectively known as squamates. Megachirella is approximately 75 million years older than what were previously considered the oldest fossil squamates in the world.

Important discoveries

3.1 New fossil ferns

An important fern and a famous woman geologist

The fern *Gordonopteris lorigae* was first discovered in excellent condition on the Kühwiesenkopf by Michael Wachtler. It is named after the Scottish geologist, paleontologist, and politician Marie Ogilvie Gordon (1864–1939). She was the first woman to be awarded the title of Doctor of Science from the University of London and the first woman to receive a PhD from the University of Munich. She was also a supporter and advocate for the rights and equality of children and women. (6)

The fern *Wachtleria*, a primitive *Lindsaea*

Wachtleria nobilis*, discovered by Michael Wachtler and described by the Austrian paleontologist Georg Kandutsch, is the oldest known ancestor of the *Lindsaeaceae*, a tropical to subtropical fern family within the *Polypodiales*. The *Lindsaeaceae* includes approximately 200 species distributed across South America, East Asia, and New Zealand. *Wachtleria nobilis* exhibits all the characteristics of today's *Lindsaeaceae* with their slender stipes and fertile leaves with spores grouped on the outer margins of the leaves.

3.2 Strange surviving of arborescent lycopods in the Triassic

Giant lycophytes dominated swamp jungles in the Carboniferous, and it was thought they declined relatively quickly at the Permian-Triassic boundary. Michael Wachtler discovered that in the Dolomites, arborescent clubmosses experienced a new golden age during the Triassic, though on a smaller scale in terms of size.

The enigma of the scale trees

One arborescent lycopod, likely descended from the Carboniferous *Lepidodendrales*, is represented by *Lycopia dezanchei*, first discovered and described by Michael Wachtler. It is a highly interesting plant and a direct descendant of giant *Lepidodendron*, showing ancestral affinities. Some arborescent lycophytes may have crossed the Permian period by reducing their size and survived into the Mesozoic, filling ecological niches. Extant *Lycopodiales* and *Lycopia* exhibit a comparable root system with a creeping stem and rootlets, as well as terminal strobili.

The last Sigillaria-lycopods

It was also thought that the other large group of Carboniferous lycophytes, the *Sigillariaceae*, died out at the beginning of the Permian. New discoveries in the Dolomites by Michael Wachtler indicate that they played an important role in understanding Triassic vegetation and its evolution into the Jurassic, though on a smaller scale. *Sigillcampeia*, honoring Edith Campei, the first discoverer, was characterized by its bonsai-like growth, providing insight into the blueprint, growth, and fertilization of this lycopod family. Its cones contained microsporangiate and macrosporophylls with a single large sporangium, which in other cases could also be considered a seed. Another similar genus is *Eocyclotes alexawachtleri*, characterized by a short stem ending in closely spaced foliage forming a rosette around numerous tongue-like sporophylls. This lycopod was first found in the Braies Dolomites by Alexa Wachtler.

Ancestors of today's quillworts Triassic *Isoetites brandneri*, discovered for the first time by Michael Wachtler in the Braies Dolomites, represents one of the oldest ancestors of today's *Isoetes*.

3.3 The mother of all cycads

In the 1990s, Michael Wachtler began intensive research into fossil cycads, first in the Alps and then across Europe, allowing him to recover sufficient remains from the Early Permian through the entire Triassic and to the present day. *Wachtleropteris valentinii*, honoring Michael Wachtler and Ferruccio Valentini, discovered in Early Permian sediments, represents the most rudimentary cycad gymnosperm. This shrubby plant possessed leaves that extended upwards on a stem and branched twice, which is atypical of today's cycads, and each leaf split into two independent branches. The arrangement of cones at the end of a pinnate leaf identifies them as gymnosperms. They can therefore be classified as "last representatives of a very old and primitive species with cycadalean affinities" from the Devonian to the Permian.

3.4 The search for the most primitive conifer

No other species of conifer exhibits such primitive features as *Perneria thomsonii* from the Carboniferous-Permian transition, first described by Michael Wachtler. In many respects, with their double-Ypsilon terminal leaves and pointed emergences in the lower part, they resemble the progymnosperms from the Devonian.

3.5 Fèrovalentinia and the origin of the Pines

Early Permian *Fèrovalentinia wachtleri*, honoring Michael Wachtler, fossils discovered in the Southern Alps, can be considered the oldest member of the pine family. The remarkable changes that occurred over a period of about five million years can be observed in pine trees found just a few kilometers away in Tregiovo, which originated at a later stage. By this time, the pines had clearly diverged along several lines. *Valentinia angelellii* still exhibited relatively short-needled, laciniate leaves, while *Valentinia cassinissi*, in contrast, was characterized by long-needled, bushy bundles similar to modern five-needle Swiss pine (*Pinus cembra*). The seed cones, however, remained largely unchanged. (7)

3.6 Researching the origin of angiosperms

Research initiated by Michael Wachtler will attempt to explain the strange genesis of angiosperms with new theories based on surprising new findings in the Russian Ural region. The evolution of flowering plants is a central question in natural science. Some theories about isolated landmasses were developed by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess. In his "Antlitz der Erde" (The Face of the Earth) in 1885, he hypothesized that in the Paleozoic era, there was a large northern paleocontinent, which he called Angara, comprising parts of present-day Russia, the Urals, and Siberia. Several "flowers" from Early Permian sediments in the Urals discovered by Michael Wachtler exhibit different stamens with anthers and a gynoecium, as well as impressions of some ovules. During the Early Permian period, various angiosperm lineages, including deciduous trees (maples, oaks, ash trees, stone fruits), herbaceous flowers and grasses, dicots, and monocots, were present. Once the bisexual flower, composed of stamens and carpels with surrounding petals, sepals, or tepals, evolved, all subsequent lineages can be deduced. The rise of flowering plants was accompanied by the concurrent evolution of all insect groups. The hypothesis of hermaphroditic flowers was supported by Paleozoic findings, thereby discrediting the "Magnolia theory."

An audacious hypothesis could be linked to the largest known volcanic events in the last 500 million years of Earth's geological history—the formation of the Siberian Traps—spanning one million years around the Permian-Triassic boundary, approximately 251 to 250 million years ago. Today, basaltic lava covers approximately 2 million square kilometers there, but the original extent is estimated to have been about 7 million square kilometers, approximately in the region from Siberia over the former Angara continent. The global catastrophe that occurred 251 million years ago involved Angara more than other landmasses. It could be suggested that angiosperms survived with difficulty in some isolated refuges. Likely, for a long time, until the Cretaceous period, they were unable to expand on a large scale. In this case, angiosperms were among the most severely impacted victims of this global catastrophe. (8)

3.7 Discovery of primitive dinosaur tracks

In 2007, Michael Wachtler discovered a new fossil site with interesting ichnospecies on the Piz da Peres mountain, exhibiting a near-shore paleoecosystem with numerous tetrapod tracks. The new *Sphingopus ladinicus* trackways were particularly noteworthy because they displayed a clear tendency toward bipedalism with a functionally three-toed pes, which could be interpreted as possible synapomorphies of basal dinosaurs. These features were interpreted as possible synapomorphies of basal dinosaurs. Therefore, the tracks of *Sphingopus ladinicus* were interpreted as dinosauroid, not dinosaurian. A more accurate designation would be "ancestors" of dinosaurs or, more precisely, an affiliated evolutionary lineage.

3.8 Wachtlerosaurus

In 2017, Michael Wachtler discovered a small-sized Middle Triassic archosaur in the Dolomites. It was described by Thomas Perner as *Wachtlerosaurus ladinicus*. The mostly complete skeleton features a skull with powerful teeth and slender ribs. Since very little is known about the phylogenetically earliest members of the *Avemetatarsalia*, this new animal helps to fill a gap in knowledge.

The great find of gold

In 2008, on Monte Rosa, Michael Wachtler, along with the twins Mario and Lino Pallaoro, Federico Morelli, Maurizio Petti, and Georg Kandutsch, made the largest gold discovery in the Alps in modern times. They found 30 kg of native gold. They started from a forgotten map by a Swiss scientist.

Building the DoloMythos Museum and Imprisonment

Wachtler concurrently focused on organizing exhibitions and museum concepts. The most famous of these is the "Dolomythos" museum in Michael Wachtler's castle-like villa in Innichen. It illustrates the history of the Dolomites from its beginnings to the present day. In December 2010, a task force of the Carabinieri confiscated 3,700 fossil finds stored in the Dolomythos museum. The public prosecutor's office investigated him for the illegal possession of cultural objects. Michael Wachtler was accused of not having properly prepared the fossils. Wachtler considered this sentence to be a "judgment against science."

Fighting against the destruction of nature

Unfazed by the charges and prison sentences, Michael Wachtler is increasingly viewed as a "warning voice" against the destruction of nature in the Dolomites. Although the DoloMythos Museum faces potential closure by the authorities, he continues his unwavering efforts to raise human awareness of the fragile environment.

In 2011, along with the woodsman Fèro Valentini from the Non Valley, he studied the importance of wild plants to humans. He excavated the Early Permian fossil site in Tregiovo in Italy's Non Valley and described primitive plants. In 2014, Michael Wachtler published the critical book "Gebt der Wildnis das Wilde zurück" (Give the Wilderness its Wildness Back).

Publications

The First World War in the Alps. Athesia Spectrum, Template:ISBN 88-6011-037-8
Thomas Perner, Michael Wachtler. Permian – Birth of a new World, Dolomythos Museum, Innichen, South Tyrol, Italy. Oregon Institute of Geological Research, Portland, OR, (USA), {{</nowiki>ISBN 978-88-908815-3-4 Search this book on .}}
Fossil Triassic Plants from Europe and their evolution. Volume 1: Conifers and Cycads, Template:ISBN 978-88-908815-5-8, Editors: Dolomythos Museum, Innichen, South Tyrol, Italy. Oregon Institute of Geological Research, Portland, OR, (USA), ISBN 978-88-908815-1-0 Search this book on .
Fossil Triassic Plants from Europe and their evolution. Volume 2: Lycopods, horsetails, ferns; Template:ISBN 978-88-908815-6-5, Editors: Dolomythos Museum, Innichen, South Tyrol, Italy. Oregon Institute of Geological Research, Portland, OR, (USA), Template:ISBN 978-88-908815-1-0
Early Permian Origin and Evolution of Angiosperms - The Flowering of Angara-Land, Editors: Dolomythos Museum, Innichen, South Tyrol, Italy. Oregon, Institute of Geological Research, Portland, OR, (USA), Template:ISBN 978-88-908815-9-6

References

Wegers Wolke, Tagszeitung, 01. Juli 2018
Wachtler M., van Konijnenburg – van Cittert H.2000: La flora fossile della Formazione di La Valle – Wengen (Ladinico) nelle Dolomiti (Italia) Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali – Acta Geologica v. 75 (1998), p. 113-146.
Broglio-Loriga C., Fugagnoli A., Gaetani M., van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, J.H.A.,Kustatscher E., Mantovani N., Posenato R., Renesto S., Tintori A. & Wachtler M. (2002) Il giacimento a piante di Monte Pra della Vacca/Kühwiesenkopf (Anisico, Dolomiti di Braies): una proposta di salvaguardia. In: A. Tintori (ed.), Giornate della Paleontologia 2002 S.P.I., Verona-Bolca-Priabona (I), abstract book, p. 13.
Renesto S., Posenato R., 2003: A new Lepidosauromorph reptile from the Middle Triassic of the Dolomites (Northern Italy). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 109(3), p. 463-474
Simōes, T., Caldwell, M., Talanda, M.; Bernardi, M., Palci, A., Vernygora, O., Bernardini, F., Mancini, L., Nydam, R., 2018. "The origin of squamates revealed by a Middle Triassic lizard from the Italian Alps". Nature. 557 (7707): 706–709. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0093-3
Museo di Scienze Naturali dell'Alto Adige: La flora fossile di Monte Prà della Vacca (Valdaora), su naturmuseum.it. URL consultato il 3 settembre 2009.
Wachtler: L'Origine delle Dolomiti, Editore DoloMythos - San Candido, Template:ISBN 978-88-944100-1-3
Wachtler mercoledì in Tribunale per la vicenda legata ai reperti archeologici, su altoadige.gelocal.it. URL consultato il 3 gennaio 2012.

External links

Dolomythos - Michael Wachtler

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