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The Palaeontographical Society was established in 1847, and is the oldest Society devoted to study of palaeontology worldwide. Its primary role is to promote the description and illustration of the British fossil flora and fauna, via publication of an authoritative monograph series. These monographs cover a wide range of taxonomic groups, from microfossils, trilobites and ammonites through to Coal Measure plants, mammals and reptiles, and from all ages from Cambrian to Pleistocene. They form a benchmark for understanding the past life of the British Isles and many include the original descriptions of numerous key species. The first monograph (on the Crag Mollusca) was published in March 1848 and the Society still continues this work today. Notable authors in the series include Charles Darwin (fossil barnacles) and Richard Owen (dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles). Beginning in 2014, the Cambridge Library Collection and the Society are collaborating to reissue the earlier publications, focusing on monographs completed between 1848 and 1918.

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29 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society

Page 1 of 2

Monograph on the Lias Ammonites of the British Islands
  • Volume 1, Parts 1-4
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    27 April 2015
    First published in:
    1878
  • Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Thomas Wright (1809–84) pursued medical, anatomical and surgical studies, and from 1832 spent the rest of his life in Cheltenham, where he worked as a medical officer and as surgeon to the Cheltenham General Hospital and Dispensary. The fossils he collected from the Jurassic rocks of the neighbourhood led him to publish a series of works, including monographs on the British Jurassic and Cretaceous echinoids (also reissued in this series). Reissued in two volumes, the present work originally appeared in eight parts between 1878 and 1886. Wright died before the final part was completed; this was accomplished from his notes by Thomas Wiltshire. As well as descriptions of fossils, there is a comprehensive stratigraphic section, an account of 'the structure and classification of the Cephalopoda', and a comprehensive 'analysis of the families and genera of the fossil Cephalopoda' by Wiltshire. The work contains nearly ninety exquisite lithographic plates.

Monograph on the British Fossil Echinodermata from the Cretaceous Formations
  • The Echinoidea
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
    First published in:
    1864
  • Thomas Wright (1809–84) was a leading nineteenth-century monographer of the Mesozoic echinoderms ('spiny-skinned animals') of the British Isles. The task of describing the British Cretaceous echinoids (sea urchins) was originally to be undertaken by Edward Forbes (1815–54), but his untimely death thrust the responsibility onto Wright. This project was made the more difficult when the accumulated specimens of Forbes disappeared after his death. Fortunately, the British Cretaceous is particularly rich in echinoids which have always been attractive to collectors, so many other sources were available for study. In particular, this work is dominated by the sea urchins of the Chalk, which are diverse, commonly well preserved and sometimes bizarre in morphology. Originally published in ten parts between 1864 and 1882, Wright's text is further enhanced by a suite of fine lithographic plates, mainly by Charles R. Bone (1808–75), who unfortunately died before completion of the project.

A Monograph of British Belemnitidae
  • John Phillips
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    02 July 2015
    First published in:
    1865
  • The nephew of William Smith, John Phillips (1800–1874) was also an influential geologist. Professor of Geology at Oxford, and in part founder of the Oxford University Museum, he notably proposed the three main eras: the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Originally published between 1865 and 1870, this monograph was the first to attempt a review of British belemnites, and was influenced in part by the author's youthful studies of the Yorkshire Jurassic. During the mid-nineteenth century there were many developments in the study of this important fossil group, with the discovery of soft parts, and documentation of diverse faunas across Europe. Phillips' work complemented these advances. Though he died before completing the Cretaceous section, the monograph covers many of the most important species (though, as was common at the time, restricted to the genus Belemnites in the broad sense). It remains a starting point for any study of British belemnites.

Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Wealden and Purbeck Formations
  • Richard Owen
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
  • Sir Richard Owen (1804–92) coined the term 'Dinosauria' in 1842 for the remains of three animals named from the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous rocks of southern England: Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus. In his monograph on the Wealden and Purbeck Reptilia (published in five parts with nine supplements in 1853–79) he confirms the distinctiveness of this newly recognised group, building on earlier work by Gideon Mantell and others. Owen also reviewed the other reptiles then known from these Early Cretaceous faunas, including turtles, crocodiles and lizards. This work initiated major interest in the earliest Cretaceous Purbeck Limestone Group fauna, which remains one of the most diverse small reptile faunas known from the Mesozoic, as well as consolidating the international importance of the Wealden Group in dinosaur studies. The monograph remains a benchmark for many of the species described, particularly the crocodiles and turtles.

A Monograph of the Fossil Reptilia of the Liassic Formations
  • Richard Owen
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    27 April 2015
    First published in:
    1861
  • Discoveries of fossil reptiles in the sea cliffs of south-western England helped to consolidate ideas of 'deep time' and extinction by revealing ancient worlds whose unfamiliar and bizarre inhabitants had no living counterparts. Many of these fossils were from the Lower and Upper Lias Groups, suites of rocks laid down in the shallow seas that covered much of southern England during the Early Jurassic period (around 201-174 million years ago). Sir Richard Owen (1804–92) was one of several anatomists who provided extensive descriptions of these animals. His monograph on the Liassic Reptilia (published in three parts in 1861–81) includes the first, and so far only, detailed description of the early armoured dinosaur Scelidosaurus (the first dinosaur known from an almost complete skeleton), an important account of Dimorphodon (the first flying reptile named from the United Kingdom), and critical information on two marine reptile groups, the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.

Monograph on the Lias Ammonites of the British Islands
  • Volume 2, Parts 5-8
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    27 April 2015
    First published in:
    1878
  • Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Thomas Wright (1809–84) pursued medical, anatomical and surgical studies, and from 1832 spent the rest of his life in Cheltenham, where he worked as a medical officer and as surgeon to the Cheltenham General Hospital and Dispensary. The fossils he collected from the Jurassic rocks of the neighbourhood led him to publish a series of works, including monographs on the British Jurassic and Cretaceous echinoids (also reissued in this series). Reissued in two volumes, the present work originally appeared in eight parts between 1878 and 1886. Wright died before the final part was completed; this was accomplished from his notes by Thomas Wiltshire. As well as descriptions of fossils, there is a comprehensive stratigraphic section, an account of 'the structure and classification of the Cephalopoda', and a comprehensive 'analysis of the families and genera of the fossil Cephalopoda' by Wiltshire. The work contains nearly ninety exquisite lithographic plates.

A Monograph of the Ammonites of the Inferior Oolite Series
  • Volume 1, Parts 1-6
  • Sydney Savory Buckman
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
    First published in:
    1887
  • Originally issued between 1887 and 1907, this monograph by Sydney Savory Buckman (1860–1929) remains the most comprehensive record of British Aalenian to Lower Bajocian ammonites. Reissued here in two volumes, it features superb, accurately drawn illustrations, with some photography. Buckman's early ideas on biochronological subdivision and zonal succession are presented along with refinements in the supplement based on later research. Exhaustive descriptions of numerous morphospecies are given, many prepared when Buckman resided in Dorset and was thoroughly familiar with the local succession. He observed that it was possible to further subdivide strata beyond the zonal scheme of the day. This work laid the foundations for further writings on natural evolutionary classification and time-rock duality. Unfortunately, the monograph was discontinued before the remaining part concerning the Lower to Upper Bajocian and Lower Bathonian was completed. Nevertheless, it remains essential reading for establishing an understanding of Inferior Oolite ammonites.

A Monograph of the Ammonites of the Inferior Oolite Series
  • Volume 2, Parts 7-14
  • Sydney Savory Buckman
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
    First published in:
    1892
  • Originally issued between 1887 and 1907, this monograph by Sydney Savory Buckman (1860–1929) remains the most comprehensive record of British Aalenian to Lower Bajocian ammonites. Reissued here in two volumes, it features superb, accurately drawn illustrations, with some photography. Buckman's early ideas on biochronological subdivision and zonal succession are presented along with refinements in the supplement based on later research. Exhaustive descriptions of numerous morphospecies are given, many prepared when Buckman resided in Dorset and was thoroughly familiar with the local succession. He observed that it was possible to further subdivide strata beyond the zonal scheme of the day. This work laid the foundations for further writings on natural evolutionary classification and time-rock duality. Unfortunately, the monograph was discontinued before the remaining part concerning the Lower to Upper Bajocian and Lower Bathonian was completed. Nevertheless, it remains essential reading for establishing an understanding of Inferior Oolite ammonites.

A Monograph on the British Fossil Echinodermata of the Oolitic Formations
  • Volume 1
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    19 March 2015
    First published in:
    1857
  • Urged by his colleague Edward Forbes, Thomas Wright (1809–84) devoted himself to completing this monograph of the echinoderms ('spiny-skinned animals') of Britain's Oolitic formations. These would be referred to as Middle Jurassic by the modern geologist. This is a notable contribution, describing as it does the echinoderms following a major stratigraphic gap. In the British Isles, apart from some minor occurrences in the Permian and Lower Jurassic, echinoderms are almost entirely absent from the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian), a period we now know to represent 150 million years. Although common and diverse elsewhere during this interval, the British Oolitic echinoderms show many changes from those of the Mississippian. Wright's two-volume monograph includes thorough descriptions and locality details, all supported by beautiful plates. Volume 1, originally published in four parts between 1857 and 1861, considers the many and varied echinoids (sea urchins) of the Middle Jurassic.

A Monograph of the Fauna of the Cornbrash
  • John Frederick Blake
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
    First published in:
    1905
  • The thin but widespread Cornbrash Formation is a marine sedimentary deposit of particular interest and importance to stratigraphers because, as revealed by its palaeontology, within it lies a transgressive event which marks the boundary between the Middle Jurassic Bathonian and Callovian stages. The monographic treatment of its varied fauna was started by John Frederick Blake (1839–1906), but he died before the work was completed, and it remained unfinished. This one-volume reissue comprises the two parts that were originally published separately. Part 1 (issued in November 1905) includes details of Cornbrash exposures from Dorset to Yorkshire, and systematic descriptions of the vertebrates (reptiles, crocodiles, fish) and molluscs (nautiloids, ammonites, belemnites and gastropods). The second part (issued posthumously in December 1907) continues to cover the molluscs (scaphopods) and draws the monograph to a premature close. Some seventy taxa are illustrated in nine lithographic plates.

A Monograph on the British Fossil Echinodermata of the Oolitic Formations
  • Volume 2
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    19 March 2015
    First published in:
    1863
  • Urged by his colleague Edward Forbes, Thomas Wright (1809–84) devoted himself to completing this monograph of the echinoderms ('spiny-skinned animals') of Britain's Oolitic formations. These would be referred to as Middle Jurassic by the modern geologist. This is a notable contribution, describing as it does the echinoderms following a major stratigraphic gap. In the British Isles, apart from some minor occurrences in the Permian and Lower Jurassic, echinoderms are almost entirely absent from the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian), a period we now know to represent 150 million years. Although common and diverse elsewhere during this interval, the British Oolitic echinoderms show many changes from those of the Mississippian. Wright's two-volume monograph includes thorough descriptions and locality details, all supported by beautiful plates. Volume 2, originally published in three parts between 1863 and 1880, considers those most beautiful of invertebrates, the asteroids (starfishes) and ophiuroids (brittle stars) of the Middle Jurassic.

A Monograph of the Crag Mollusca
  • With Descriptions of Shells from the Upper Tertiaries of the British Isles
  • Volume 2, Bivalves
  • Searles V. Wood
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
    First published in:
    1851
  • The Pliocene-Pleistocene Crags of East Anglia are an incredibly rich source of fossil shells, many belonging to extant Boreal and Mediterranean genera. Dominated by marine gastropods and bivalves, the deposits also contain evidence of terrestrial and non-marine gastropods and bivalves, brachiopods, and extensive epifauna including bryozoans. Published between 1848 and 1879 in four volumes, the latter two being supplements with further descriptions and geological notes, this monograph by Searles Valentine Wood (1798–1880) covers more than 650 species and varieties of fossil mollusc. For each species Wood gives a synonymy, diagnosis (in Latin), full description, dimensions, occurrence and remarks. The supplements also provide a breakdown of the species and their current distribution. The detailed plates were prepared by the conchologist George Brettingham Sowerby and his namesake son. Volume 2 (1851–61) covers bivalves and brachiopods, illustrated in 31 plates.

A Monograph of the British Carboniferous Trilobites
  • Henry Woodward
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1883
  • Henry Woodward (1832–1921) intended this monograph, originally published as two parts in 1883–4, to be the first of a series of supplements aimed at completing Salter's unfinished work on British trilobites. In the event, no others were published. As the first monographic treatment of Carboniferous trilobites from Britain and Ireland, it has remained a standard work. Thirty-one species distributed among four genera are described, including the type species of the well-known Phillipsia, Griffithides and Brachymetopus. The specimens are faithfully reproduced in a series of fine illustrations. The monograph concludes with three short appendices: the nature of pores on the trilobite headshield; a new Carboniferous trilobite from Ohio; and a letter from Agassiz on possible affinities between trilobites and a marine isopod. Woodward described further new species of Carboniferous trilobites in a series of papers published between 1884 and 1906, which acted as supplements to his monograph.

A Monograph of the British Fossil Corals
  • H. Milne-Edwards, Jules Haime
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1850
  • In the mid-nineteenth century, two outstanding French zoologists, Henri Milne-Edwards (1800–85) and Jules Haime (1824–56), carried out the most comprehensive study of coral taxonomy and classification that had yet been attempted. They covered all known examples, ranging from the oldest fossil corals to those living in modern oceans. Although many of the taxa have now been revised, and many forms since discovered, this integrated approach was not emulated until multi-author treatises appeared a century later. Originally published 1850–4, this monograph begins with an account of coral classification. The authors then deal with British corals, working stratigraphically downwards from the Crag (Plio–Pleistocene), through all the known coral-bearing strata of the Cenozoic and Mesozoic, continuing down to the 'Silurian', from which the Ordovician had not yet been separated. A magnificent achievement for its time, and still important for researchers, the work is embellished by 72 white-on-black engraved plates.

A Monograph of the Eocene Mollusca of England
  • Volume 1, A Monograph of the Eocene Cephalopoda and Univalves of England
  • Frederic E. Edwards, Searles V. Wood
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    30 October 2014
    First published in:
    1849
  • The Eocene sediments of the London and Hampshire basins in southern England are rich in fossil invertebrates, plants and vertebrates; in particular, they yield a great diversity of often well-preserved fossil mollusc shells. Seeking to provide a methodical treatment of known specimens, Frederick E. Edwards (1799–1875) and Searles V. Wood (1798–1880) had divided the workload of describing the Mollusca found in the English Tertiary formations, with Edwards taking the older formations and Wood the newer. When Edwards became ill, however, Wood took on the Eocene bivalves, yet he was unable to add much to the treatment of cephalopods and gastropods. Featuring detailed illustrations, the two volumes provide for each species a synonymy, diagnosis (in Latin), full description, dimensions, occurrence, and well-informed remarks. Volume 1 comprises the Monograph of the Eocene Cephalopoda and Univalves of England, originally published in several parts between 1849 and 1877.

A Monograph of the Mollusca from the Great Oolite
  • Chiefly from Minchinhampton and the Coast of Yorkshire
  • Volume 1
  • J. Morris, John Lycett
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1850
  • The Bathonian Great Oolite Group is a fossiliferous series of calcareous and argillaceous rocks that are only rarely oolitic in composition. Based upon the collection of physician John Lycett (1804–82), made in quarries on Minchinhampton Common in the Cotswolds, this monograph, written in collaboration with the geologist John Morris (1810–86), covers only that part of the Great Oolite found in this location. However, it also includes species found on the coast of Yorkshire, near Scarborough, which would be included in the Inferior Oolite. The significance of this work is that it is one of just a handful of monographs describing and illustrating the British Jurassic gastropod and bivalve fauna. Having received no significant revision since the late 1940s, it remains a key reference point for Jurassic molluscs. Volume 1 comprises three parts published between 1850 and 1854, covering cephalopods, gastropods and worms as well as bivalves.

A Monograph on the British Fossil Echinodermata from the Cretaceous Formations
  • The Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea
  • W. Percy Sladen, W. K. Spencer
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1891
  • The magnificent monograph of the British Cretaceous echinoids (sea urchins) by Thomas Wright (1809–84) was to be followed by a similar work on the asteroids (starfishes). Sadly, Wright died in the early stages of this project, leaving only notes and some plates, but it was taken up by Walter Percy Sladen (1849–1900), who completed two parts before ill health interrupted his previous productivity. William Kingdon Spencer (1878–1955) became the third authority to be involved, finishing the work in a further three parts and also expanding the scope to include the ophiuroids (brittle stars). All three contributors were amateurs, variously a surgeon (Wright), independently wealthy (Sladen) and HM Inspector of Schools in Suffolk (Spencer). Originally published in five parts between 1891 and 1908, Sladen and Spencer's text, embellished by many fine plates, is a monument to two of the rarer, yet most attractive, groups of Cretaceous fossils.

A Monograph of the British Fossil Corals
  • Second Series
  • P. Martin Duncan
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1866
  • In this supplementary monograph, originally published 1866–72, the English geologist Peter Martin Duncan (1824–91) treats only those British fossil corals that were unknown to Edwards and Haime in their preceding monograph (also reissued in this series), and those that needed revision. The two works were meant to be used together, and Duncan includes combined indexes. Featuring similar white-on-black engravings, the work starts with the Eocene and proceeds stratigraphically downwards, ending with corals from around the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. The intention to cover Palaeozoic corals was never fulfilled, so this monograph concerns scleractinians. Duncan includes an introductory treatment of the anatomy of living scleractinians, in support of his claim to offer a new taxonomical approach. He also draws attention to 'the entirely new [Eocene (Bartonian)] Coral-fauna of Brockenhurst'. This was auspicious, since recent study of this fauna sheds light on the origin of the modern Indo-Pacific coral hotspot.

A Monograph of the Mollusca from the Great Oolite
  • Supplement
  • Volume 2, Mollusca from the Stonesfield Slate, Great Oolite, Forest Marble, and Cornbrash
  • John Lycett
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1863
  • The Bathonian Great Oolite Group is a fossiliferous series of calcareous and argillaceous rocks that are only rarely oolitic in composition. Based upon the collection of physician John Lycett (1804–82), made in quarries on Minchinhampton Common in the Cotswolds, this monograph, written in collaboration with the geologist John Morris (1810–86), covers only that part of the Great Oolite found in this location. However, it also includes species found on the coast of Yorkshire, near Scarborough, which would be included in the Inferior Oolite. The significance of this work is that it is one of just a handful of monographs describing and illustrating the British Jurassic gastropod and bivalve fauna. Having received no significant revision since the late 1940s, it remains a key reference point for Jurassic molluscs. Volume 2 comprises the supplement published by Lycett in 1863, covering molluscs found in geological formations besides the Great Oolite.

A Monograph of the British Trilobites from the Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian Formations
  • J. W. Salter
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1864
  • At the time of his death, John William Salter (1820–69) was dubbed 'the prince of palaeontologists'. A true naturalist with a particular interest in Trilobita, he started publishing this monograph in 1864, and three further parts were issued in 1865–7. But his heath failed and he died, leaving around half of the trilobites then known from Britain unclassified; the work was wound up in 1883. Though unfinished, Salter's monograph has thirty excellent plates which make it an essential starting point for the study of British Devonian, Silurian and Ordovician trilobites. The monograph is also frequently cited because Salter's 'preliminary classification of trilobites', though brief, was the best devised up to that time, and has since served as a framework for the classifications used today. Salter introduced four orders of trilobites, three of which - Phacopida, Asaphida, Agnostida - are generally recognised today; only his group 'Ampycini' is not now used.

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