Lucas, S. G., Hunt, A. P. & Lichtig, A. J., 2021, Fossil Record 7. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 82. 437 FROM MICROFOSSILS TO MEGAFAUNA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE TAXONOMIC DIVERSITY OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FOSSILS JUSTIN S. TWEET1 and VINCENT L. SANTUCCI2 1National Park Service, 9149 79th Street S., Cottage Grove, MN, 55016,
[email protected]; 2National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, 1849 “C” Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240,
[email protected] Abstract—The vast taxonomic breadth of the National Park Service (NPS)’s fossil record has never been systematically examined until now. Paleontological resources have been documented within 277 NPS units and affiliated areas as of the date of submission of this publication (Summer 2020). The paleontological records of these units include fossils from dozens of high-level taxonomic divisions of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates, as well as many types of ichnofossils and microfossils. Using data and archives developed for the NPS Paleontology Synthesis Project (PSP) that began in 2012, it is possible to examine and depict the broad taxonomic diversity of these paleontological resources. The breadth of the NPS fossil record ranges from Proterozoic microfossils and stromatolites to Quaternary plants, mollusks, and mammals. The most diverse taxonomic records have been found in parks in the western United States and Alaska, which are generally recognized for their long geologic records. Conifers, angiosperms, corals, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, artiodactyls, invertebrate burrows, and foraminiferans are among the most frequently reported fossil groups. Small to microscopic fossils such as pollen, spores, the bones of small vertebrates, and the tests of marine plankton are underrepresented because of their size and the specialized equipment and techniques needed to study them.