Welcome to the Department of Museum Research and Collections!
We oversee the management and curation of the Alabama Museum of Natural History collections and develop interdisciplinary research programs focusing on museum-based research. Browse this site to learn more about who we are and what we do.
Over the last two months, two new books on parasitism in the fossil record were published as part of the Topics in Geobiology series. The last one appeared online on 1 January 2022.
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Over the last decade, parasites in the marine fossil record have been increasingly studied. The scientific community has shown that part of the lack of knowledge about marine parasites in deep time is simply due to a lack of research.
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The sea floor was a dangerous place for particularly smaller animals. Over the last century, a wealth of information about traces in ancient prey items has been recorded, showing successful and unsuccessful predation. One of the best ways to largely avoid predators and other disturbances is to find a shelter.
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This story is part 11 of the AL.com series “Ancient Alabama,” examining the natural forces that made Alabama what it is over the past 500 million years, and how those forces still shape the state today.
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This story is part 10 of the AL.com series “Ancient Alabama,” examining the natural forces that made Alabama what it is over the past 500 million years, and how those forces still shape the state today.
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This story is part eight of the AL.com series “Ancient Alabama,” examining the natural forces that made Alabama what it is over the past 500 million years, and how those forces still shape the state today.
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The University of Alabama lost one of its legends on December 26, 2021. Professor Edward O. Wilson was a giant in many ways.
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This month, a 75-million-year-old mosasaur fossil from Alabama was graciously donated to the paleontology collections of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The 2-feet-long skull is remarkably complete warrants further study by specialists.
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Dr. Ron Buta, professor emeritus of Astronomy, has been a major force in avocational or amateur paleontology since he rediscovered his interest in paleontology in mid-1990s. For his substantial contributions uncovering the prehistory of Alabama, he has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award.
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