LANG'S FOSSILS AT THE TOKYO INTERNATIONAL MINERAL SHOW 2005

JUNE, 2005   ALLAN LANG IS GUEST OF HONOR AT TIMA

ALLAN LANG AND LANG'S FOSSILS ARE CORNERSTONE OF MAJOR EXHIBITION AT TOKYO MINERAL SHOW

The Tokyo International Mineral Show, the oldest and largest of its kind in Asia, began almost twenty years ago. For fourteen of those years, prior to retiring, Allan Lang was the first and only non-Asian member of the TIMA show committee.

The show is held each year in early June, runs for five days, and attracts thousands of visitors. Each year the show has a particular theme; one year it will be a particular fossil, the next a particular mineral. The theme for 2005 was eurypterids and Allan Lang, an internationally-respected authority on these extinct aquatic arthropods was featured as TIMA's Guest of Honor.

In addition to presenting a 90-minute lecture and slide show (complete with translator) entitled "Lang's Quarry: A Personal Narrative of Collecting and Preparing the New York State Fossil," Allan shipped a substantial portion of his world-class eurypterid collection to Tokyo. His fossils formed the core of an extensive scientific exhibition, displaying a wide range of eurypterids' physical features, and presented in a special exhibit area for the duration of the show.

 As a result of careful inspection of the specimens prior the show, Allan discovered Lang's Quarry's first-ever diseased eurypterid specimen. One eurypterid was found to have been infected by a tubular parasite. It was the only diseased animal found in twenty-eight consecutive years of collecting at the quarry.

Over the years, Allan and Iris Lang have welcomed many Japanese collectors and researchers to Lang's Quarry, and an unexpected benefit of the Tokyo visit was the chance to be reunited with many of these former visitors and colleagues. In addition, Allan saw his first-ever origami eurypterid! A origami artist associated with the show produced numerous paper animals for visitors, and after a period of careful design and experimentation produced the world's first origami eurypterid, nearly six inches in length.

Each year, TIMA produces a beautifully-designed full color magazine program to accompany the show, and the 2005 edition featured a 12-page section on Allan Lang, Lang's Quarry and his marvelous eurypterid collection

TO VIEW  THE TIMA PROGRAM MAGAZINE  CLICK HERE

 Please note the magazine is in japaniese