Paleontological Skill and the Role of the Fossil Preparator
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Illinois Fossils Doc 2005
State of Illinois Illinois Department of Natural Resources Illinois Fossils Illinois Department of Natural Resources he Illinois Fossils activity book from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Division of Education is designed to supplement your curriculum in a vari- ety of ways. The information and activities contained in this publication are targeted toT grades four through eight. The Illinois Fossils resources trunk and lessons can help you T teach about fossils, too. You will find these and other supplemental items through the Web page at https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/education/Pages/default.aspx. Contact the IDNR Division of Education at 217-524-4126 or [email protected] for more information. Collinson, Charles. 2002. Guide for beginning fossil hunters. Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois. Geoscience Education Series 15. 49 pp. Frankie, Wayne. 2004. Guide to rocks and minerals of Illinois. Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois. Geoscience Education Series 16. 71 pp. Killey, Myrna M. 1998. Illinois’ ice age legacy. Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois. Geoscience Education Series 14. 67 pp. Much of the material in this book is adapted from the Illinois State Geological Survey’s (ISGS) Guide for Beginning Fossil Hunters. Special thanks are given to Charles Collinson, former ISGS geologist, for the use of his fossil illustrations. Equal opportunity to participate in programs of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and those funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies is available to all individuals regardless of race, sex, national origin, disability, age, reli-gion or other non-merit factors. -
Fossil Collecting Areas in Iowa
FOSSIL COLLECTING AREAS IN IOWA The following list, although far from compete, includes a few of the better fossil collecting areas in Iowa. 1. Rockford, Floyd County (¼ mile south and ¼ mile west of the Rockford Brick and Tile Company pit, on county road “D”). Well preserved brachiopods, gastropods, and corals are most abundant in the yellowish shales that overlie the blue-gray beds. The fossils occurring here are known as the Hackberry fauna and have been described by C.L. and M.A. Fenton in a book entitled, “The Hackberry State of the Upper Devonian,” published by the MacMillan Company in 1924. 2. Bird Hill, Cerro Gordo County This is near the center of the north line of section 24, T 95N, R.19W, about 3½ miles west and ¼ mile south of the Rockford Brick and Tile Company Plant. The Hackberry fauna can be collected here also. 3. Elgin-Clermont area, Fayette County In the Elgin Member of the Maquoketa Formation large trilobites and both straight and coiled cephalopods are found. Fragments of trilobites are common, but whole specimens are rare. Road cuts along the new highway between Clermont and Elgin, the dry stream bed along county road “Y” east of Clermont, and the high-road cuts along the Turkey River southeast of Elgin are all good collecting sites. References for this area are: (1) Slocum, A.W., “Trilobites from the Maquoketa Beds of Fayette County, Iowa,” Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report, Volume 25; (2) Walter, O.T., “Trilobites of Iowa and some Related Paleozoic Forms,” Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report, Volume 31; (3) Ladd, H.S., “Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Maquoketa Shale of Iowa,” Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report, Volume 34. -
PIR/PER) for the State Route 86 / Avenue 50 New Interchange Project, City of Coachella, Riverside County, California E-FIS 0801-000144 (EA 08-0C970
Combined Paleontological Identification Report / Paleontological Evaluation Report (PIR/PER) for the State Route 86 / Avenue 50 New Interchange Project, City of Coachella, Riverside County, California E-FIS 0801-000144 (EA 08-0C970) Submitted to: Kurt Heidelberg, Branch Chief Environmental Studies D California Department of Transportation, District 8 464 West 4th Street, 6th Floor, MS 825 San Bernardino, California 92401-1400 March 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Coachella (City), in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 8 and Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), proposes the construction of a new interchange at State Route 86 (SR-86) and Avenue 50 in the City of Coachella, Riverside County, California. The SR-86 /Avenue 50 New Interchange Project (Project) consists of converting a portion of SR-86 from an existing expressway to a freeway with a new overcrossing structure and access ramps. In addition, the proposed Project includes the realignment and widening of Avenue 50 and the realignment of portions of Tyler Street on both the east and west sides of SR-86. Finally, the Project would construct a new bridge over the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel (CVSC) to replace the existing low water crossing. At the request of TranSystems, Applied EarthWorks, Inc. (Æ) performed a paleontological resource assessment in support of the proposed Project. The study consisted of a search of museum collections records maintained by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, a comprehensive literature and geologic map review, a field reconnaissance survey, and preparation of this combined Paleontological Identification Report (PIR) / Paleontological Evaluation Report (PER). -
The Origin and Early Evolution of Dinosaurs
Biol. Rev. (2010), 85, pp. 55–110. 55 doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00094.x The origin and early evolution of dinosaurs Max C. Langer1∗,MartinD.Ezcurra2, Jonathas S. Bittencourt1 and Fernando E. Novas2,3 1Departamento de Biologia, FFCLRP, Universidade de S˜ao Paulo; Av. Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeir˜ao Preto-SP, Brazil 2Laboratorio de Anatomia Comparada y Evoluci´on de los Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘‘Bernardino Rivadavia’’, Avda. Angel Gallardo 470, Cdad. de Buenos Aires, Argentina 3CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cient´ıficas y T´ecnicas); Avda. Rivadavia 1917 - Cdad. de Buenos Aires, Argentina (Received 28 November 2008; revised 09 July 2009; accepted 14 July 2009) ABSTRACT The oldest unequivocal records of Dinosauria were unearthed from Late Triassic rocks (approximately 230 Ma) accumulated over extensional rift basins in southwestern Pangea. The better known of these are Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, Pisanosaurus mertii, Eoraptor lunensis,andPanphagia protos from the Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina, and Staurikosaurus pricei and Saturnalia tupiniquim from the Santa Maria Formation, Brazil. No uncontroversial dinosaur body fossils are known from older strata, but the Middle Triassic origin of the lineage may be inferred from both the footprint record and its sister-group relation to Ladinian basal dinosauromorphs. These include the typical Marasuchus lilloensis, more basal forms such as Lagerpeton and Dromomeron, as well as silesaurids: a possibly monophyletic group composed of Mid-Late Triassic forms that may represent immediate sister taxa to dinosaurs. The first phylogenetic definition to fit the current understanding of Dinosauria as a node-based taxon solely composed of mutually exclusive Saurischia and Ornithischia was given as ‘‘all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of birds and Triceratops’’. -
Annual Report Fy2016
ANNUAL REPORT FY2016 AFFILIATED WITH Affiliated with Cornell University PRI: WHO WE ARE Founded in 1932, the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) pursues and integrates education and research, and interprets the history and systems of the Earth and its life. Our aim is to increase knowledge, educate society, and encourage wise stewardship of the Earth. PRI has two campuses and one large plot of forest property north of Ithaca, NY. Palmer Hall Museum of the Earth Named in honor of Katherine Palmer Opened in 2003, the Museum of the Earth (Director, 1952-1978), Palmer Hall is the is home to temporary and permanent Institution’s main building, housing PRI’s exhibitions that teach visitors about the collections, laboratories, library, and offices. history of life on Earth. Cayuga Nature Center Smith Woods The Cayuga Nature Center merged with Located in Trumansburg, NY, Smith Woods PRI in 2013. The Nature Center’s education is the largest plot of old-growth forest in programs and exhibitions focus on the central New York. More than 32 acres large, natural history of the Cayuga Lake basin, Smith Woods serves as a research and and are conducted in the Lodge and on the education resource for elementary through 120 acres of woodlands and fields on-site. graduate students. TABLE OF CONTENTS DIRECTOR’S AND PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 2-3 PRI SERVES: 2016-2016 AT A GLANCE 4-5 RESEARCH 6-9 PUBLICATIONS 10-11 COLLECTIONS 12-13 EDUCATION 14-18 GRANTS 19 CORNELL UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 20-23 MUSEUM OF THE EARTH 24-25 CAYUGA NATURE CENTER 26-27 EXHIBITIONS 28-31 COMMUNITY ACCESSIBILITY 32-33 INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS 34-35 DONOR SUPPORT 36-39 FINANCIAL ACTIVITY STATEMENT 40 BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND STAFF 41 FRONT COVER BACKGROUND IMAGE: Blue sky at the Cayuga Nature Center. -
Micropaleontological Association from the Middle Miocene Badenian Gypsum Deposits of Paratethys
geosciences Article A New Preparation Method of Microfauna from Gypsum: Micropaleontological Association from the Middle Miocene Badenian Gypsum Deposits of Paratethys Hans-Peter Bojar 1, Claudia Antoniade 2, Victor Barbu 3 and Ana-Voica Bojar 1,4,5,* 1 Studienzentrum Naturkunde—Mineralogie, Universalmuseum Joanneum, Weinzöttlstraße 16, 8045 Graz, Austria; [email protected] 2 OMV Petrom, Research and Design Institute of Technology Petrom Câmpina, Culturii Bldv 29, Câmpina, 15600 Prahova, Romania; [email protected] 3 OMV Petrom, Coralilor str. 22, 013329 Bucharest, Romania; [email protected] 4 Department Geographie und Geologie, Geologie, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstraße 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria 5 Faculty of Physics, Department of Structure of Matter, Earth and Atmospheric Physics and Astrophysics, University of Bucharest, Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta 4-12, 030018 Bucharest, Romania * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 23 March 2020; Accepted: 26 April 2020; Published: 28 April 2020 Abstract: Evaporitic gypsum deposits represent an important paleoenvironmental record of the Miocene Badenian of the Carpathian Mountains belt. In this study, we developed a nontoxic method to concentrate calcareous microfossils from gypsum (CaSO 2H O), by treating the sulfate with 4· 2 ammonium acetate. We applied the newly developed method to gypsum collected from the Evaporitic Formation outcropping northward of Slănic-Prahova in the Eastern Carpathians. For the first time for this formation, we describe a calcareous microfossil assemblage characterized by the presence of planktonic foraminifera as well as cysts and fragments of calcareous algae. Keywords: chemical preparation method; gypsum deposits; calcareous microfossil assemblage; Miocene; Eastern Carpathians 1. Introduction In the Earth’s history, sulfate rich marine waters are known for late Precambrian (Vendian), Pennsylvanian-Triassic, Miocene to Quaternary [1]. -
Mary Anning of Lyme Regis: 19Th Century Pioneer in British Palaeontology
Headwaters Volume 26 Article 14 2009 Mary Anning of Lyme Regis: 19th Century Pioneer in British Palaeontology Larry E. Davis College of St. Benedict / St. John's University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/headwaters Part of the Geology Commons, and the Paleontology Commons Recommended Citation Davis, Larry E. (2009) "Mary Anning of Lyme Regis: 19th Century Pioneer in British Palaeontology," Headwaters: Vol. 26, 96-126. Available at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/headwaters/vol26/iss1/14 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Headwaters by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LARRY E. DAVIS Mary Anning of Lyme Regis 19th Century Pioneer in British Palaeontology Ludwig Leichhardt, a 19th century German explorer noted in a letter, “… we had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the Princess of Palaeontology, Miss Anning. She is a strong, energetic spinster of about 28 years of age, tanned and masculine in expression …” (Aurousseau, 1968). Gideon Mantell, a 19th century British palaeontologist, made a less flattering remark when he wrote in his journal, “… sallied out in quest of Mary An- ning, the geological lioness … we found her in a little dirt shop with hundreds of specimens piled around her in the greatest disorder. She, the presiding Deity, a prim, pedantic vinegar looking female; shred, and rather satirical in her conversation” (Curwin, 1940). Who was Mary Anning, this Princess of Palaeontology and Geological Lioness (Fig. -
The Paleontology Synthesis Project and Establishing a Framework for Managing National Park Service Paleontological Resource Archives and Data
Lucas, S.G. and Sullivan, R.M., eds., 2018, Fossil Record 6. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 79. 589 THE PALEONTOLOGY SYNTHESIS PROJECT AND ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE ARCHIVES AND DATA VINCENT L. SANTUCCI1, JUSTIN S. TWEET2 and TIMOTHY B. CONNORS3 1National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, 1849 “C” Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240, [email protected]; 2National Park Service, 9149 79th Street S., Cottage Grove, MN 55016, [email protected]; 3National Park Service, Geologic Resources Division, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80225, [email protected] Abstract—The National Park Service Paleontology Program maintains an extensive collection of digital and hard copy documents, publications, photographs and other archives associated with the paleontological resources documented in 268 parks. The organization and preservation of the NPS paleontology archives has been the focus of intensive data management activities by a small and dedicated team of NPS staff. The data preservation strategy complemented the NPS servicewide inventories for paleontological resources. The first phase of the data management, referred to as the NPS Paleontology Synthesis Project, compiled servicewide paleontological resource data pertaining to geologic time, taxonomy, museum repositories, holotype fossil specimens, and numerous other topics. In 2015, the second phase of data management was implemented with the creation and organization of a multi-faceted digital data system known as the NPS Paleontology Archives and NPS Paleontology Library. Two components of the NPS Paleontology Archives were designed for the preservation of both park specific and servicewide paleontological resource archives and data. A third component, the NPS Paleontology Library, is a repository for electronic copies of geology and paleontology publications, reports, and other media. -
The Sauropodomorph Biostratigraphy of the Elliot Formation of Southern Africa: Tracking the Evolution of Sauropodomorpha Across the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary
Editors' choice The sauropodomorph biostratigraphy of the Elliot Formation of southern Africa: Tracking the evolution of Sauropodomorpha across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary BLAIR W. MCPHEE, EMESE M. BORDY, LARA SCISCIO, and JONAH N. CHOINIERE McPhee, B.W., Bordy, E.M., Sciscio, L., and Choiniere, J.N. 2017. The sauropodomorph biostratigraphy of the Elliot Formation of southern Africa: Tracking the evolution of Sauropodomorpha across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 62 (3): 441–465. The latest Triassic is notable for coinciding with the dramatic decline of many previously dominant groups, followed by the rapid radiation of Dinosauria in the Early Jurassic. Among the most common terrestrial vertebrates from this time, sauropodomorph dinosaurs provide an important insight into the changing dynamics of the biota across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. The Elliot Formation of South Africa and Lesotho preserves the richest assemblage of sauropodomorphs known from this age, and is a key index assemblage for biostratigraphic correlations with other simi- larly-aged global terrestrial deposits. Past assessments of Elliot Formation biostratigraphy were hampered by an overly simplistic biozonation scheme which divided it into a lower “Euskelosaurus” Range Zone and an upper Massospondylus Range Zone. Here we revise the zonation of the Elliot Formation by: (i) synthesizing the last three decades’ worth of fossil discoveries, taxonomic revision, and lithostratigraphic investigation; and (ii) systematically reappraising the strati- graphic provenance of important fossil locations. We then use our revised stratigraphic information in conjunction with phylogenetic character data to assess morphological disparity between Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sauropodomorph taxa. Our results demonstrate that the Early Jurassic upper Elliot Formation is considerably more taxonomically and morphologically diverse than previously thought. -
Newsletter Number 77
The Palaeontology Newsletter Contents 77 Association Business 2 Association Meetings 18 News 23 Advert: National Fossil Day 27 From our correspondents Invasion of the Dinosaur 28 PalaeoMath 101: Complex outlines 36 Future meetings of other bodies 46 Meeting Report Progressive Palaeontology 2011 54 Mystery Fossil 21: update 58 Obituary Frank K. McKinney 60 Reporter: a fossiliferous Countdown 62 Graduate opportunities in palaeontology 67 Book Reviews 68 Special Papers 85: Asteroidea 83 Palaeontology vol 54 parts 3 & 4 84–85 Discounts for PalAss members 86 Reminder: The deadline for copy for Issue no 78 is 3rd November 2011. On the Web: <http://www.palass.org/> ISSN: 0954-9900 Newsletter 77 2 Association Business Annual Meeting 2011 Notification is given of the 54th Annual General Meeting and Annual Address This will be held at the University of Plymouth on 18th December 2011, following the scientific sessions. AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of the 53rd AGM, University of Ghent 3. Trustees Annual Report for 2010 4. Accounts and Balance Sheet for 2010 5. Election of Council and vote of thanks to retiring members 6. Report on Council Awards 7. Annual address DRAFT AGM MINUTES 2010 Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 18th December 2010 at the University of Ghent. 1 Apologies for absence: Prof. J. C. W. Cope 2 Minutes: Agreed a correct record 3 Trustees Annual Report for 2009. Proposed by Dr L. R. M. Cocks and seconded by Prof. G. D. Sevastopoulo, the report was agreed by unanimous vote of the meeting. 4 Accounts and Balance Sheet for 2009 . -
A Small Lepidosauromorph Reptile from the Early Triassic of Poland
A SMALL LEPIDOSAUROMORPH REPTILE FROM THE EARLY TRIASSIC OF POLAND SUSAN E. EVANS and MAGDALENA BORSUK−BIAŁYNICKA Evans, S.E. and Borsuk−Białynicka, M. 2009. A small lepidosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of Poland. Palaeontologia Polonica 65, 179–202. The Early Triassic karst deposits of Czatkowice quarry near Kraków, southern Poland, has yielded a diversity of fish, amphibians and small reptiles. Two of these reptiles are lepido− sauromorphs, a group otherwise very poorly represented in the Triassic record. The smaller of them, Sophineta cracoviensis gen. et sp. n., is described here. In Sophineta the unspecial− ised vertebral column is associated with the fairly derived skull structure, including the tall facial process of the maxilla, reduced lacrimal, and pleurodonty, that all resemble those of early crown−group lepidosaurs rather then stem−taxa. Cladistic analysis places this new ge− nus as the sister group of Lepidosauria, displacing the relictual Middle Jurassic genus Marmoretta and bringing the origins of Lepidosauria closer to a realistic time frame. Key words: Reptilia, Lepidosauria, Triassic, phylogeny, Czatkowice, Poland. Susan E. Evans [[email protected]], Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Uni− versity College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Magdalena Borsuk−Białynicka [[email protected]], Institut Paleobiologii PAN, Twarda 51/55, PL−00−818 Warszawa, Poland. Received 8 March 2006, accepted 9 January 2007 180 SUSAN E. EVANS and MAGDALENA BORSUK−BIAŁYNICKA INTRODUCTION Amongst living reptiles, lepidosaurs (snakes, lizards, amphisbaenians, and tuatara) form the largest and most successful group with more than 7 000 widely distributed species. The two main lepidosaurian clades are Rhynchocephalia (the living Sphenodon and its extinct relatives) and Squamata (lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians). -
West Antarctica: Tectonics and Paleogeography
Chapter 2 West Antarctica: Tectonics and Paleogeography The origin of West Antarctica (WANT) can be traced back to the Terra Australis orogenesis that began between 520 Ma and 510 Ma—shortly after the terminal suturing of Gondwana (Boger 2011). The onset of this event was responsible for the termination of passive margin sedimentation along much of the Pacific margin of Gondwana and marks the beginning of widespread and broadly coeval deforma- tion and arc-type plutonism. It also began a long-lived process of accretion that added much of the crust that defines eastern Australia, West Antarctica (domain 5 of Boger 2011, Fig. 2.1), and western South America (Cawood 2005, 2009). Post-Gondwana accretionary growth—the Terra Australis and Gondwanide Orogenies—The suturing of the West Gondwana and Australo–Antarctic plates along the Kuunga Orogen brought to an end the long-lived process of convergence between the pre-collision components of Gondwana. The result was a reconfigura- tion of the early to middle Cambrian plate system and the consequent transfer of ocean floor consumption from between the pre-Gondwana cratons to the outboard Pacific margin of newly formed Gondwana supercontinent (Cawood2005 ). This led to the establishment of the accretionary Terra Austrais Orogen (Cawood 2005), a general name given to the orogenic belt that stretched continuously from north- ern South America to northern Australia and which began in the early to middle Cambrian and lasted until the late Carboniferous. In Antarctica Terra Australis (Ross) orogenesis also deformed and variably metamorphosed the pre-Gondwana passive margin (Fig. 2.2). The Gondwana supercontinent underwent a sequential fragmentation over approximately 165 Ma.