INVERTEBRATE and micro-fossil collections vary in size, scope, degree of documentation, quality of curation, purpose, usage, and security. This chapter introduces the main categories of fossil collections and curatorial attention, and documents the sources and uses of invertebrate paleontological materials. The term ‘permanent collection’ is used to describe collections housed in professional collections-care institutions that provide long-term commitment to collection security and curation. Invertebrate fossils include the hardparts (spicules, shells, etc., other body fossils [e.g., impressions, casts, and molds]), tracks, trails, and burrows attributed to invertebrates, and organic molecules. Microfossils, included here for convenience only, include the same kinds of remains of prokaryotes, protists, and tiny invertebrates. This book is the product of an National Science Foundation funded workshop organized to address specific concerns about curatorial practices in invertebrate paleontology. For this reason the focus of this chapter is on invertebrate fossils. Nevertheless, the concepts and uses of collections described below apply directly to paleobotanic specimens, and to most vertebrate fossils.

In the mid-twentieth century much of the impetus for paleoecological research was from the need for the fossil record to provide paleoenvironmental information. At that time earth scientists trying to understand the environmental context in which sedimentary rocks were deposited began extensive utilization of fossil components and sedimentary structures to make their interpretations. Towards this end, paleontologists and biologists catalogued the environmental preferences and depth distributions of modern organisms, and these modern distributions have been utilized in paleoenvironmental reconstructions by means of taxonomic uniformitarianism. Physical sedimentary structures have also been studied extensively in modern environments and laboratory simulations so that their occurrence in rocks can provide detailed information on ancient environments.

Plaster of Paris is a general term for gypsum plasters and gypsum cements. Plaster, which has been in widespread use for producing casts of fossils since the Nineteenth Century (e.g., Green, 1832; Ward, 1866), is easily used for making rigid, long-lasting, and inexpensive casts of study specimens, and for making field casts from natural molds. Good general descriptions of the use of plaster are given in Clarke (1938) and Rich (1947), as well as in many recent books on sculpture (e.g., Miller, 1971; Chaney and Skee, 1973; Andrews, 1983), and in various brochures distributed by manufacturers (e.g., United States Gypsum Company, 1987a, 1987b). Using plaster for casting paleontological specimens was previously discussed in works by Quinn (1940), Keyes (1959), Heintz (1963), Rigby and Clark (1965), Rixon (1976), and Chase (1979).

The Conceptual Change Model (CCM) is an instructional approach that helps students learn by deliberately targeting their misconceptions. The teaching of such paleontological topics as evolution, phylogenetics, and functional morphology—three concept-rich units that are components of any paleontology course—is confounded by ingrained misunderstandings. The inquiry-based CCM was developed to take into account current theories of brain function. It fully supports the National Research Council's standards for inquiry and follows their recommendations for teaching science. The CCM instructional process allows students to: identify their own preconceptions, recognize the wide variety of beliefs held by classmates, confront their misconceptions, revise and reconstruct their ideas, apply their knowledge, and, finally, ask new questions for further study and growth. Implementation of the model provides a socially safe and challenging environment that engages students in ways not possible in traditional lecture settings. The CCM is employed in the upper-division course in paleontology at Florida Gulf Coast University. The principles of the paleontology course supports our marine science, environmental studies, and biology undergraduate programs. At the introduction of each topical unit, a short inquiry-based exercise is implemented both to reveal preconceptions carried by the students and to demonstrate the inconsistencies and problems with those conceptions. This then provides an opportunity to cleanly present the correct rendition of the concept.

“VALUE,” WROTE John Ruskin (1862), “is the life-giving power of anything; cost, the quantity of labor required to produce it; price, the quantity of labor which its possessor will take in exchange for it”. These distinctions see obvious enough. Yet in the bustle of everyday modern life in a highly materialistic society, it seems increasingly difficult to separate “value” from “cost” and “price”. How do we — as individuals, groups, or a society — assign a value to something? What, in fact, do we value? A glance at television or a popular magazine offers some clues. We value things economic, those associated with “making a living”, with solving the everyday problems of making one's way in the world. We value things that enhance our position or status in society, or that make our lives easier or give us pleasure or diversion. We value things that make our lives meaningful. We do not tend to necessarily value what's good for us, at least not simply because someone tells us it is.

High-resolution stratigraphic analysis of Cretaceous strata in the Western Interior Basin (WIB) of North America has allowed definition of numerous disconformity-bounded, eustatically and/or tectonically driven sequences and their systems tracts at 2nd- through 4th-order scale, as well as 5th- to 7th-order climate-induced cycles. Integrated event chronostratigraphy and biostratigraphy allow detailed regional tracing and facies analysis of these sequences, leading to three-dimensional modeling of facies evolution. Whether driven by relative sealevel changes or smaller scale climate cycles, Cretaceous sequences and their bounding disconformities reflect dynamic changes in many factors which moderate biological systems (e.g. sealevel and paleobathymetric changes, changes in current velocity and in erosion/sedimentation rates and patterns, watermass temperature and chemistry, etc). Predictable biological responses (patterns) to varying environmental conditions and different systems tracts are expected in sequence stratigraphy. Once defined within well-studied systems, these patterns can then be used as an independent tool for sequence stratigraphic analysis. To date, our research has focused on the development of paleobiological criteria which aid in the recognition of sequence stratigraphic frameworks, especially in basinal facies where sequence boundaries and systems tracts may be subtly defined in the physical stratigraphy. Such criteria may include the identification of sequence boundaries and other omission surfaces by punctuated character displacement in evolutionary series, by condensation or omission of biostratigraphic zones, by mixed or time-averaged community elements and biozones, and by selective colonization by firm substrate-dependent benthic communities. Gradients within and between systems are characterized by different community composition, biofacies, taxonomic and community diversity patterns, adaptive bauplans among resident taxa, taphonomic signatures, and bioevents that allow predictive biological characterization in sequence stratigraphy. Once established and correlated, sequence stratigraphic systems among different basins provide a chronostratigaphic and environmental framework within which the regional dynamics of ancient populations and communities can be evaluated, leading to the analysis and modeling of relationships between sealevel changes and biogeographic migration patterns, and the rates and patterns of evolution and extinction.

The 17–20 million year old Miocene locality at Clarkia, northern Idaho, has become renowned as the first site to yield amplifiable DNA of geological age. This discovery has opened up the possibility of phylogenetic studies on fossil tissue using preserved DNA. However, the conditions required for DNA preservation in the fossil record are not understood. An organic geochemical study of fossil tissue and sediments has been undertaken at the Clarkia site to assess the preservation of other less labile compounds, such as leaf waxes, structural polysaccharides, cutins, lignins and chlorophyll pigments. Previous organic geochemical studies have developed an understanding of the behaviour of these compound classes in different environments. The relative behaviour of the compound classes and the preservation of individual compounds within each class can therefore help in the interpretation of the biogeochemistry of this site which may in turn shed light on the reported preservation of fossil DNA.

Leaf waxes are preserved but a selective loss of long chain esters has occurred, and microbial degradation products of triterpenoids have been identified. Structural polysaccharides and cutins have been lost from the leaf tissues. A highly resistant aliphatic polymer is preserved in the mesophyll and epidermal regions of the leaves, with lignin identified in leaf vein tissues. Various degradation products of chlorophyll have also been identified. The organic geochemical results are all consistent with microbial degradation within the leaf tissues and sediment. Excellent morphological preservation is not accompanied by mutual chemical preservation. The survival of DNA in this environment is extremely surprising. However, preservation of plant polyphenols may provide an answer to this anomaly.

Manuscripts submitted to the Paleontological Society Papers must conform strictly to guidelines in order to ensure timely publication of each volume. Manuscripts, to be included in the series, should be no more than 25 single-spaced pages in length, and submitted to the volume editor by February 15 of the intended year of publication.

Mammalia constitute one of the five major classes of vertebrates (the others being Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, and Aves). There are, at latest count, some 4,170 species of mammals living today, classified in about 1010 genera, 130–140 families, and 18 orders (Corbet and Hill, 1980; Honacki et al., 1982). In addition, sixteen orders and uncounted genera and species of mammals are known to be extinct (see synoptic classification in Table 1). While most living mammals are terrestrial like their Mesozoic ancestors, one large progressive group has invaded the air (bats, represented by about 150 living genera and 920 species). Two other smaller groups are fully aquatic (whales, including some 40 genera and 80 species; and sirenians, 3 genera and 5 species). Mammals occupy all of the continents, and all of the larger oceanic islands. Faunal diversity is greatest in lowland tropical forests, woodlands, and savannas, decreasing rapidly at high elevations and latitudes.

Biogeography is a scientific discipline with a rich intellectual heritage extending back at least to the 18th century, and the discipline figured prominently in the development of ideas on evolution (see review in Lieberman, 2000). During the development of ideas on evolution, an important analogy was recognized between patterns of change in organisms across geographic space and patterns of change in organisms through geological time. For instance, Alfred Russel Wallace argued that, “If we now consider the geographical distribution of animals and plants upon the Earth, we shall find all the facts beautifully in accordance with, and readily explained by, the present hypothesis (Evolution). A country having species, genera, and whole families peculiar to it, will be the necessary result of its having been isolated for a long period…The phenomena of geological distribution are exactly analogous to those of geography. Closely related species are found associated in the same beds, and the change from species to species appears to have been as gradual in time as in space.” (Wallace, 1855 in Brooks, 1984, p. 75). Charles Darwin felt it was important enough to remark in the very introduction to his On the Origin of Species that, “…when on board H.M.S. ‘Beagle,’ as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the organic beings inhabiting South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent. These facts, as will be seen in the latter chapters of this volume, seemed to throw some light on the origin of species-that mystery of mysteries” (Darwin, 1859, p. 1).

K.S. Thomson, 1985: p. 73

R.T. Bakker, 1986: p. 462

It is a now oft-repeated statement that we are in the Second Golden Age of dinosaur studies. This may at first seem to be yet another overstatement by dinosaur fanatics; in fact, it is substantiated on a number of fronts. Research activity is certainly at an all-time high, with resident dinosaur researchers on every continent (except Antarctica) and dinosaurs known from every continent (including Antarctica). This activity has resulted in a spate of discoveries, including not only new genera and species, but entirely new types of dinosaurs, such as the segnosaurs. Well-known groups are producing surprises, such as armored sauropods and sauropods bearing tail clubs. Good specimens of previously named genera are revealing unsuspected structural features that almost defy explanation, as in the skull of Oviraptor. However, dinosaur studies extend far beyond the traditional emphasis on dinosaur morphology, and encompass paleobiogeography, paleoecology, taphonomy, physiology, tracks, eggs, histology, and extinction, among others. In some cases, several of these studies can be applied to a single taxon or locality to give us a fairly detailed understanding of the paleobiology of some species.

AIR-ABRASIVE, also called Airbrasive (a trademark of the Pennwalt S.S. White Co.), units are in effect miniature sandblasting machines. The units propel an abrasive, by means of a gas, through a flexible hose attached to a handpiece. Originally designed for dental and industrial uses, these units are now widely used for preparing fossils. The air abrasive can be used by itself or in combination with other techniques to excavate fossils from matrix, to remove matrix from areas of specimens for detailed study, and to elevate specimens above the surface of the matrix for display and photography. The technique of preparing fossils using the air abrasive has been previously described and discussed by a number of authors, notably by Stucker (1961), Stucker et al. (1965), Rixon (1976, p. 75–77), and Converse (1984, p. 42–49).

Every Young kid will tell you that dinosaurs and fossils are really cool or, in the words of one four-year old, “dinosaurs are cool, and fossils are the best!” Dinosaurs and fossils are the window through which most kids and many adults now get their first introduction to science. Paleontology is art, science, and imagination; it inspires a wealth of curiosity by students about ancient life and helps all of us to know about our origins and how our world with humans came to be.

Cells of Emiliania huxleyi are surrounded by ‘coccoliths', minute, elegant scales of calcium carbonate. In all the oceans, particularly at mid-latitudes, this species forms gigantic blooms, readily visualized by satellite imagery. Coccolith-bearing organisms, of which E. huxleyi is by far the most abundant representative, are the major contributors to the ocean floor limestone sediments, and this in turn is the largest long-term sink of inorganic carbon on earth. In addition, E. huxleyi blooms emit vast amounts of dimethyl-sulphide (DMS), a gas which, on oxidation, is a dominant source of cloud nuclei. The profusion of E. huxleyi and its intimate involvement with the global biogeochemical cycles of both carbon and sulphur make it a key component of the greenhouse effect (CO2), natural acid rain and albedo regulation.

E. huxleyi blooms are often almost monospecific. They can be visualized by satellite imagery and leave highly characteristic skeletal and macromolecular markers which accumulate on the deep-sea floor as a long-term record of their history. The organism is easily cultured in the laboratory and molecular genetical, biochemical and physiological studies are underway.

We focus on Emiliania huxleyi as a model organism to study interactions between oceanic plankton and climate. Benefits of this approach are: (1) to highlight the idiosyncratic non-linear character of these interactions; (2) to reveal the intimate coupling of the oceanic carbon cycle and DMS productivity; and (3) to allow an integrated modelling and experimental approach, integrating multi-disciplinary studies that range from the global down to the macromolecular level and through geological time. E. huxleyi coccoliths and specific biomarkers preserved in the geological archive not only provide information on the distribution of this organism in the geological past. The connection with extensive neontological research offers a unique opportunity to reconstruct the development of the entire E. huxleyi system, including its multifarious climatic interactions, through geological time.

The ‘Global Emiliania Modeling Initiative’ (GEM), started in 1990, is a European research program intended to investigate and model the Emiliania huxleyi system.

Controversy concerning the affinity of the stromatoporoids is not new; it began over 100 years ago with the first systematic studies of the group. Rosen's (1867) opinion was that these fossils were allied to the sponges. Nicholson and Murie (1878) agreed. Solomko (1885) introduced some of the arguments still used by the advocates of the poriferan affinity of the stromatoporoids such as the recognition of the astrorhizae as excurrent canal systems. H.A. Nicholson who had at first supported the hypothesis of sponge affinity became convinced that the closest living representatives were to be found in the hydrozoans. He compared the skeletons of the stromatoporoids like Actinostroma to the modern hydrozoan Hydractinia and the skeleton of amalgamate genera like Stromatopora to that of Millepora. Nicholson's monograph of British stromatoporoids (1886–92) and the papers he published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History to accompany his revision of the group form the basis of all later work and hence his views on the affinity of stromatoporoids had immense influence.

The Subphylum Homalozoa is divided into four classes, which while having similar morphological features, are at best distantly related. All classes exhibit flattened thecae, are bilateral to relatively asymmetrical and apparently were surface detritus feeders or low level suspension feeders. Many homalozoans display thick marginal plates with smaller central plates on dorsal and ventral surfaces, possibly to augment gut and/or cloacal pumping.