The Palaeontology Newsletter Contents 99 Editorial 2 Association Business 3 PalAss Wants You! 15 Become the YouTube face of PalAss 16 Association Meetings 17 News 22 From our correspondents A Palaeontologist Abroad 32 Legends of Rock: Gertrude Elles 35 Mystery Fossil 26 38 The bones of Gaia 39 Stan Wood & the challenge of Wardie 44 Future meetings of other bodies 48 Meeting Reports 53 Grant Reports 76 Book Reviews 99 Palaeontology vol. 61 parts 5 & 6 105–108 Papers in Palaeontology vol. 4 parts 3 & 4 109 Reminder: The deadline for copy for Issue no. 100 is 11th February 2019. On the Web: <http://www.palass.org/> ISSN: 0954-9900 Newsletter 99 2 Editorial This issue sadly sees the last ever news column from Liam Herringshaw, whose tenure is estimated to stretch back as far as the Permian1. He has used this opportunity to explore depictions of palaeontology in British children’s television and his piece is jam-packed with libellous statements about the workings of Council. Speaking of which, our outgoing president Paul Smith gives us his promised Legends of Rock piece on Gertrude Elles, whose name now adorns the newly constituted public engagement prize (replacing the narrower-scoped Golden Trilobite), the first winner(s) of which will be announced at the Annual Meeting in Bristol. Other highlights of the current issue include Jan Zalasiewicz’s piece, which features an athletic Darwin and ponders the distribution of biomass across time and taxa. Tim Smithson, Nick Fraser and Mike Coates tell the story of Stan Wood’s remarkable contribution to Carboniferous vertebrate palaeontology through his many years of collecting at Wardie in Scotland and announce the digital availability of a previously incredibly hard to find publication by Stan2. On the other side of the Atlantic, the second ever A Palaeontologist Abroad gives three different accounts – from Dahiana Arcila, Katie Collins and Nicolás Mongiardino Koch – on doing palaeontology in the US. Finally, I would like to draw your attention to our Editor-in-Chief advertisement. Andrew Smith will soon be stepping down from the role having transformed the Association’s publications into world-leading outlets for palaeontological findings, and we need someone similarly adept to step up. Graeme Lloyd Newsletter Editor <[email protected]> @ThePalAss <https://www.facebook.com/groups/palass/> 1 Or at least Issue 73. 2 And made possible by Palaeontological Association funds. Newsletter 99 3 Association Business Annual Meeting 2018 Notification of the 62nd Annual General Meeting This will be held at the University of Bristol, UK, on Saturday 15th December 2018, following the scientific sessions. AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence 2. Minutes of the 61st AGM, Imperial College London * 3. Trustees Annual Report for 2017 * 4. Accounts and Balance Sheet for 2017 * 5. Election of Council and vote of thanks to retiring members 6. Report on Council Awards 7. Annual Address * Papers pertaining to these agenda items were published in the previous Newsletter, available online at <www.palass.org>, and are printed in full in the Programme and Abstracts of the Annual Meeting. Nominations For Council At the AGM in December 2018, the following vacancies will occur on Council: • Vice President • Editor-in-Chief • Editor Trustee • Publicity Officer Nominations received by the deadline are as follows: • Vice-President: Prof. Thijs Vandenbroucke* • Editor Trustee: Prof. Mark Purnell* • Publicity Officer: Dr Susannah Lydon * denotes Council nominations Personal statement from Dr Susannah Lydon I have been involved in palaeontological outreach since the 1990s, when I taught classes for the public at the University of Manchester while studying for my PhD in Mesozoic palaeobotany. Since Newsletter 99 4 2003 I have specialized in outreach work. I spent four years improving UK geology teaching with the Earth Science Education Unit at Keele University. In 2007, I joined the University of Nottingham as the Outreach Officer for a systems biology research centre. I am now the School of Biosciences lead for public engagement, schools engagement and media work. I teach plant evolution to undergraduates and science communication to Masters students. From 2016–2018 I wrote for Lost Worlds Revisited, a palaeontology blog for The Guardian Science Blog Network, which received 870,000 page-views globally in its final year. The effective use of social media for publicity was integral to this work, and to my roles at Nottingham. I would relish the opportunity to work with the PalAss Council Public Engagement Group in promoting and publicizing the Association’s work, and raising the profile of palaeontology more generally. Awards and Prizes The Palaeontological Association recognizes excellence in our profession by the award of medals and other prizes. The Association sees its lists of medal and award winners as a record of the very best palaeontologists worldwide, at different career stages, and offering different kinds of contributions to the field. The Association stresses the importance of nominations, and encourages all members to make nominations. Lapworth Medal The Lapworth Medal is the most prestigious award made by the Association. It is awarded by Council to a palaeontologist who has made a significant contribution to the science by means of a substantial body of research; it is not normally awarded on the basis of a few good papers. Council will look for some breadth as well as depth in the contributions, as well as evidence that they have made a significant impact, in choosing suitable candidates. The medal is normally awarded each year. Candidates must be nominated by at least two members of the Association. Nominations should include a single page that summarizes the candidate’s career, and further supported by a brief statement from the nominators. A list of ten principal publications should accompany the nomination. Letters of support by others may also be submitted. Council reserves the right not to make an award in any year. The career summary, statements of support and publication list should be submitted in MS Word or PDF format, ideally as a single document if possible. Nominations should be sent to <[email protected]> by 31st March. The Lapworth Medal is presented at the Annual Meeting. President’s Medal The President’s Medal is a mid-career award given by Council to a palaeontologist who has had between 15 and 25 years of full-time experience after their PhD, in recognition of outstanding contributions in his/her earlier career, coupled with an expectation that they will continue to contribute significantly to the subject in their further work. Newsletter 99 5 The medal is normally awarded each year. The candidate must be nominated by at least two members of the Association. Nominations should include a single page that summarizes the candidate’s career, and further supported by a brief statement from the two nominators. A list of ten principal publications should accompany the nomination. Letters of support by others may also be submitted. Council will reserve the right not to make an award in any one year. If a candidate has taken time out from their professional career for family and other purposes, this should be highlighted. The career summary, statements of support and publication lists should be attached in MS Word or PDF format, ideally as a single document if possible. Nominations should be sent to <[email protected]> by 31st March. The President’s Medal is presented at the Annual Meeting. Hodson Award The Hodson Award is conferred on a palaeontologist who has had no more than ten years of full- time experience after their PhD, excluding periods of parental or other leave, but not excluding periods spent working in industry, and who has made a notable contribution to the science. The candidate must be nominated by at least two members of the Association and the application must be supported by an appropriate academic case, namely a single page of details on the candidate’s career, and a brief statement from each of the two nominators. A list of principal publications should accompany the nomination. Letters of support by others may also be submitted. If a candidate has taken time out from their professional career for family and other reasons, this should be highlighted. The academic case, statements of support and publication list should be attached in MS Word or PDF format, ideally as a single document if possible. Nominations should be sent to <[email protected]> by 31st March. The Award will comprise a fund of £1,000, and is presented at the Annual Meeting. Mary Anning Award The Mary Anning Award is open to all those who are not professionally employed within palaeontology but who have made an outstanding contribution to the subject. Such contributions may range from the compilation of fossil collections, and their care and conservation, to published studies in recognized journals. The candidate must be nominated by at least one member of the Association. Nominations should comprise a short statement (up to one page of A4) outlining the candidate’s principal achievements, as well as one or more letters of support. Members putting forward candidates should also be prepared, if requested, to write an illustrated profile in support of their nominee for inclusion in the Newsletter. Nominations should be attached in MS Word or PDF format, ideally as a single document, and should include the full contact details of the candidate. Nominations should be sent to <[email protected]> by 31st March. The Award comprises a cash prize of £1,000 plus a framed scroll, presented at the Annual Meeting. Newsletter 99 6 Gertrude Elles Award for public engagement In order to promote high quality public engagement in the field of palaeontology Council has instituted this new award, which is named after pioneering early 20th century palaeontologist Gertrude Elles.