Patrons of Paleontology

Patrons of Paleontology
Author: Jane P. Davidson
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2017-08-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0253033578

A history of North American and European governments supporting paleontology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the motivation behind it. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, North American and European governments generously funded the discoveries of such famous paleontologists and geologists as Henry de la Beche, William Buckland, Richard Owen, Thomas Hawkins, Edward Drinker Cope, O. C. Marsh, and Charles W. Gilmore. In Patrons of Paleontology, Jane Davidson explores the motivation behind this rush to fund exploration, arguing that eagerness to discover strategic resources like coal deposits was further fueled by patrons who had a genuine passion for paleontology and the fascinating creatures that were being unearthed. These early decades of government support shaped the way the discipline grew, creating practices and enabling discoveries that continue to affect paleontology today. “This slim book, graced with beautiful facsimile reproductions of gorgeous paleontological folio art, is a treasure trove of vertebrate paleontological history, sacred and arcane.” —The Quarterly Review of Biology “Patrons of Paleontology is a good introduction to the ambitious individuals and institutions that pursued their own, national, and institutional interests over centuries in a variety of contexts.” —Journal of American History “Who pays for palaeontological research and why? Patrons of Paleontology will be a useful reference guide for anyone interested in the early history of the subject and some of the social and historical context in which it occurred.” —Paul Barrett, Priscum, The Newsletter of the Palentological Society

Patrons of Paleontology

Patrons of Paleontology
Author: Jane P. Davidson
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2017-08-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 025303356X

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, North American and European governments generously funded the discoveries of such famous paleontologists and geologists as Henry de la Beche, William Buckland, Richard Owen, Thomas Hawkins, Edward Drinker Cope, O. C. Marsh, and Charles W. Gilmore. In Patrons of Paleontology, Jane Davidson explores the motivation behind this rush to fund exploration, arguing that eagerness to discover strategic resources like coal deposits was further fueled by patrons who had a genuine passion for paleontology and the fascinating creatures that were being unearthed. These early decades of government support shaped the way the discipline grew, creating practices and enabling discoveries that continue to affect paleontology today.

Bringing Fossils to Life

Bringing Fossils to Life
Author: Donald R. Prothero
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 689
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0231536909

One of the leading textbooks in its field, Bringing Fossils to Life applies paleobiological principles to the fossil record while detailing the evolutionary history of major plant and animal phyla. It incorporates current research from biology, ecology, and population genetics, bridging the gap between purely theoretical paleobiological textbooks and those that describe only invertebrate paleobiology and that emphasize cataloguing live organisms instead of dead objects. For this third edition Donald R. Prothero has revised the art and research throughout, expanding the coverage of invertebrates and adding a discussion of new methodologies and a chapter on the origin and early evolution of life.

Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America

Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America
Author: Blaine W. Schubert
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2003-11-10
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780253342683

This book gathers the findings of a number of studies on North American cave paleontology. Although not intended to be all-inclusive, Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America contains contributions that range from overviews of the significance of cave fossils to reports about new localities and studies of specific vertebrate groups. These essays describe how cave remains record the evolutionary patterns of organisms and their biogeography, how they can help reconstruct past ecosystems and climatic fluctuations, how they provide an important record of the evolution of modern ecosystems, and even how some of these caves contain traces of human activity. The book's eclectic nature should appeal to students, professional and amateur paleontologists, biologists, geologists, speleologists, and cavers. The contributors are Ticul Alvarez, Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Christopher J. Bell, Larry L. Coats, Jennifer Glennon, Wulf Gose, Frederick Grady, Russell Wm. Graham, Timothy H. Heaton, Carmen J. Jans-Langel, Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr., H. Gregory McDonald, Jim I. Mead, Oscar J. Polaco, Blaine W. Schubert, Holmes A. Semken, Jr., and Alisa J. Winkler.

The Desert Bones

The Desert Bones
Author: Jamale Ijouiher
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2022-11-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0253063337

An essential introduction to the age of dinosaurs in Africa. Once Africa was referred to as the ''Lost World of the dinosaur era,'' so poorly known were its ancient flora and fauna. Worse still, many priceless fossil specimens from the Sahara Desert were destroyed during the Second World War. Fortunately, in the twentieth-first century, more researchers are now working in north Africa than ever before and making fascinating discoveries such as the dinosaur Spinosaurus. Based on a decade of study, The Desert Bones brings the world of African dinosaurs fully into the light. Jamale Ijouiher skillfully draws on the latest research and knowledge about paleoecology to paint a compelling and comprehensive portrait of the mid-Cretaceous in North Africa.

Fossils of the Carpathian Region

Fossils of the Carpathian Region
Author: István Fozy
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2013-12-18
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0253009871

A comprehensive review of the fossil record of the Carpathian Basin. Fossils of the Carpathian Region describes and illustrates the region’s fossils, recounts their history, and tells the stories of key people involved in paleontological research in the area. In addition to covering all the important fossils of this region, special attention is given to rare finds and complete skeletons. The region’s fossils range from tiny foraminifera to the Transylvanian dinosaurs and mammals of the Carpathian Basin. The book also gives nonspecialists the opportunity to gain a basic understanding of paleontology. Sidebars present brief biographies of important figures and explain how to collect, prepare, and interpret fossils. “An excellently written scientific book. . . . The good illustrations are an incentive to start reading and dive into the wide area covered by two experts in their respective fields. . . . A rich source of otherwise not published background knowledge on the paleontology and geology of the region.” —Christian A. Meyer, Natural History Museum, Basel “Fossils of the Carpathian Region . . . is beautifully produced with high-quality color illustrations throughout and an exhaustive bibliography and index. . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice “This book fills a gap in the geological texts on the Carpathians, especially in Hungary, and offers a valuable wealth of geological-paleontological and scientific-historical information from the Ordovician to the Pleistocene. This extensive and relatively inexpensive work is an unrivaled recommendation for amateurs and amateur geologists / paleontologists.” —Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie [translated from German]

Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards

Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards
Author: Jim Ottaviani
Publisher: G.T. Labs
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2005
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 9780966010664

Contains a graphic novel that presents a fictionalized historical tale of two late-nineteenth century scientists who fight over the discovery of dinosaur bones.

Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids

Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids
Author: William W. Morgan
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2021-11-19
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0253058244

Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids is the first comprehensive guide for identifying the fossils of echinoderms from hundreds of millions of years ago, when North America was covered by a warm, equatorial sea. Crinoids and blastoids, echinoderms (the same family of marine animals to include starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars) from the Fort Payne Formation in Kentucky, are rarely seen at gem, mineral, and fossil shows, nor are they regularly displayed at major museums. By combining high-quality color photographs and an accompanying descriptive text, William W. Morgan provides the first comprehensive identification guide to these fascinating fossils. Collector's Guide to Fort Payne Crinoids and Blastoids features photographs, often offering more than one view, of the best-quality specimens curated in the Smithsonian and other prominent invertebrate fossil museums. Morgan includes photographs that are unlabeled so that readers can test themselves to see whether they can differentiate some of the more subtle features that may be necessary for accurate identification.

African Dinosaurs Unearthed

African Dinosaurs Unearthed
Author: Gerhard Maier
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 427
Release: 2003-07-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0253000548

From 1907 to 1931 at Tendaguru, a remote site in present-day Tanzania, teams of German (and later British) paleontologists unearthed 220 tons of fossils, including the bones of a new dinosaur, one of the largest then known. For decades the mounted skeleton of this giant, Brachiosaurus, was the largest skeleton of a land animal on exhibit in the world. The dinosaur and other animal fossils found at Tendaguru form one of the cornerstones of our understanding of life in the Mesozoic era. Visited sporadically during the '30s and '40s, Tendaguru again became the site of scientific interest late in the 20th century. African Dinosaurs Unearthed tells the story of driven scientific adventurers working under difficult conditions and often paying the price with their health—and sometimes with their lives. Set against the background of a troubled century, the book reveals how scientific endeavors were carried on through war and political turmoil, and continue into the present day.