The Palaeontology Newsletter Contents 96 Editorial 2 Association Business 3 Annual Meeting 2017 3 PalAss needs Mentors! 13 Diversity in PalAss 14 Association Meetings 15 Code of Conduct for meetings 17 News 21 From our correspondents Legends of Rock: Tilly Edinger 26 Behind the scenes at the Museum 28 Eating fossils 31 R for palaeontologists: tidyverse 2 36 Future meetings of other bodies 45 Meeting Reports 49 Obituaries: Anthony Hallam 72 John Pojeta, Jr. 74 Grant Reports 76 Book Reviews 98 Careering off course! 105 Palaeontology vol. 60 parts 5 & 6 107–108 Papers in Palaeontology vol. 3, 3, 4 109–110 Taxonomy/nomenclature update 111 Reminder: The deadline for copy for Issue no. 97 is 12th February 2018. On the Web: <http://www.palass.org/> ISSN: 0954-9900 Newsletter 96 2 Editorial 2017 has been a busy year for PalAss and this jam-packed final issue of the year highlights the range and sheer volume of activity that has been taking place. The ‘usual suspects’, i.e. supporting the Annual Meeting, Progressive Palaeontology, and the Lyme Regis and Yorkshire Fossil Festivals, awarding grants for research, meetings and public outreach, and honours, are accompanied by progress on other important fronts. Our incipient mentorship scheme (see p. 13), which will initially focus on assisting postdoctoral researchers transition to permanent jobs, has recruited a number of mentors, but we still require additional mentors to realize the full potential of the scheme. If you are an academic in a permanent position, please consider joining the scheme as a mentor – let’s help young palaeontologists compete for those rare permanent positions. In other news, a study of diversity in the Association and palaeontology more broadly is now under way (see p. 14). We will be asking all members to complete an electronic survey on diversity issues; we will also be seeking volunteers to participate in follow-up interviews and focus groups at the Annual Meeting. Your participation in this study is greatly appreciated and will be critical to the development of policies and practices that support a diverse Association and academic environment within palaeontology. Another item of interest is our new code of conduct (p. 17), which we have developed for our Association meetings in line with similar codes which already exist for the annual meetings of the SVP and GSA. If you are planning on attending the Annual Meeting this year, please do take a look at the new code, which includes guidelines regarding social media: while we very actively welcome and encourage discussion of the Meeting, including talks and posters, online and on social media, please respect requests by authors not to do so and don’t photograph posters or record talks without the author’s permission. Finally, there are a number of imminent changes on the Association Council for 2018 (p. 3), including a new Newsletter Editor, as I am stepping down from this role. I have enjoyed continuing Jo Hellawell’s work in updating the content of the Newsletter and would like to thank all the contributors who I have worked with over the last two years for their willingness to engage with the Newsletter despite other commitments, and for their essential role in keeping the Newsletter informative, current and, above all, interesting! Maria McNamara Newsletter Editor <[email protected]> @ThePalAss <https://www.facebook.com/groups/palass/> Newsletter 96 3 Association Business Annual Meeting 2017 Notification is given of the 61st Annual General Meeting. This will be held at Imperial College London, UK, on Monday 18th December 2017, following the scientific sessions. AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of the 60th AGM, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 3. Trustees Annual Report for 2016 4. Accounts and Balance Sheet for 2016 5. Discussion of membership fees 6. Election of Council and vote of thanks to retiring members 7. Report on Council Awards 8. Annual address Nominations For Council At the AGM in December 2017, the following vacancies will occur on Council: • President Elect • Vice President • Editor Trustee • Newsletter Editor • Book Review editor • Meetings Coordinator • Education Officer • Two Ordinary Members Nominations received by the deadline are as follows: • President Elect: Prof. Charles H. Wellman * • Vice President: Dr Caroline J. Buttler * • Editor Trustee: Dr Barry H. Lomax * • Newsletter Editor: Dr Graeme T. Lloyd * • Book Review editor: Dr Tom J. Challands (2nd term) * • Meetings Coordinator: Dr Uwe Balthasar • Education Officer: Dr Maria E. McNamara * • Ordinary Members: Dr Stephen L. Brusatte, Dr Rachel C. M. Warnock , Zoë E. Hughes, Prof. Paul M. Barrett * denotes Council nominations Newsletter 96 4 As there are four nominations for two Ordinary Member posts, there will be an election at the Annual General Meeting, as per clause 13(3) of the Association Constitution. This will take place at the AGM as per clause 11(6). There will be a postal/e-mail ballot of members not registered for the Annual Meeting, which will be carried out in accordance with clause 11(7) of the Association Constitution. Voting instructions will be sent to those members not registered for the Annual Meeting in early November. The statements of interest for the posts by the four nominated persons are as follows. Prof. Paul M. Barrett I am a vertebrate palaeontologist based at the Natural History Museum, London who works on the palaeobiology, systematics and macroevolutionary history of Mesozoic and Paleogene reptiles, primarily non-avian dinosaurs. In addition to my research, I have been strongly involved in public outreach, helping to raise awareness of the subject through popular science books and frequent engagement with national and international media. Over the course of my career, I have held numerous editorial and scientific citizenship roles in which I have supported the field more generally, including editorships of Palaeontology and Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, as well as leadership roles within the Palaeontographical Society and Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. In addition, as the head of an active research group, I have strong interests in postgraduate and postdoctoral training. As a member of 25 years standing, I will be able to bring to Council the extensive experience that I have gained from working in the university and national museums sectors in the UK, together with that from my engagement with other society and editorial roles. I would regard the opportunity to serve on Council as a privilege and I look forward to helping the Association achieve its goals going forward. Dr Stephen L. Brusatte I am a Reader in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh, where I joined the faculty in 2013. I grew up in the USA and obtained a BS from the University of Chicago (2006), then went to Bristol for the MSc course in Palaeobiology (2008), and completed my doctorate at Columbia University in New York (2013). I specialise in the anatomy, phylogeny, and macroevolution of vertebrates, particularly dinosaurs, birds and mammals. I have led many field expeditions, described several new species of dinosaurs and mammals, and have developed new approaches for studying anatomical evolution over deep time. Along with over 100 peer-reviewed papers, I am the author of the leading textbook Dinosaur Paleobiology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). At Edinburgh I lead the Vertebrate Palaeontology Research Group and am a founding member of the PalAlba consortium for studying and preserving Scottish vertebrate fossils. I am a keen communicator of science: I have served as the ‘resident palaeontologist’ for the BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs programme, written several books on dinosaurs for kids, and appear regularly on television, radio, and at science festivals. Zoë E. Hughes I am Curator of Fossil Invertebrates (Brachiopods and Cephalopods) at the Natural History Museum London and believe that I would make a good addition to the Palaeontological Association Council. It is important that curators and, by extension, collections are represented in learned societies such as the Palaeontological Association. Furthermore, I am aware that after next year there will be no representative from the NHM on Council. In my view it will be a loss to the Association if one of the biggest collective groupings of palaeontologists in the UK is no longer represented on Council. Newsletter 96 5 I fully intend to be a proactive member of Council if elected; I am the Programme Secretary of the Geological Curators Group and have demonstrated myself to be an engaged member of committees. I am passionate about the care and usage of palaeontological collections, including engaging with the research community in order to get the best from, and to preserve, our collection. Looking after a diverse collection I have broad interests, though I tend to focus on the Jurassic of both of my curatorial groups. Public outreach is another aspect to my role which is important to both the Association and myself, in my case raising the awareness of brachiopods in particular! Dr Rachel C. M. Warnock I am a research fellow at ETH Zürich, Switzerland, working on the development and application of methods and tools for analysing the fossil record. In 2010 I transitioned from biology to the Earth sciences, and throughout my doctoral and postdoctoral career the Palaeontological Association (including Progressive Palaeontology) have played an important role in introducing me to the community of researchers in palaeontology. An important part of my work is communicating concepts to cross-disciplinary researchers. Experience has shown me that short courses and workshops, involving researchers at all levels, are an effective way of achieving this. My motivation to stand for the position of Ordinary Member is to advocate this perspective within the Palaeontological Association and beyond. I recently secured funding through the Association to sponsor a technical session and workshop at GSA, recruiting participants from outside the field, which has been received enthusiastically.