Alabama has a fantastic fossil record and many important fossils have been discovered by avocational (amateur/hobby) paleontologists. In 2020, a new award was created by the University of Alabama Museums honoring an avocational paleontologist who has made substantial contributions to paleontology in Alabama.
Read More from George Martin receives the Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award
Visit the Alabama Museum of Natural History on October 15 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM for a free event to celebrate National Fossil Day and the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations! Join us for a National Fossil Day celebration focused on Alabama’s fossil heritage!
On August 19th, a new article on a fossil turtle from the Alabama Museum of Natural History collection was published.
Last month, Dr. Adiel Klompmaker (UA Museums’ Curator of Paleontology) and Dr. Cristina Robins (a UA Museums’ Research Associate) participated in the 8th Symposium on Fossil Decapod Crustaceans organized in Zaragoza, Spain.
A new paper in Diversity, authored by a team of international collaborators that was headed up by Dr. John Abbott (Director of The University of Alabama’s Department of Museum Research and Collections) and Dr. Cornelio Bota Sierra (Postdoctoral Research, The University of Alabama Museums) about the Diversity of Nearctic Dragonflies and Damselflies has been published.
Read More from Diversity of Nearctic Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata)
From June 16-21, Dr. John Abbott (Director of The University of Alabama Museum’s Research and Collections) and Kendra Abbott (Alabama Museum of Natural History‘s Research and Outreach Coordinator) traveled to Colombia to conduct a Dragonfly ID and Genetics Workshop, as part of the GEODE research project.
Read More from Dragonfly ID and Genetics Workshop in Colombia
When trying to study changes in insect populations, researchers are hindered by one big problem: We don’t know as much about bugs as we need to. “We know almost nothing,” said Kendra Abbott, entomologist and museums research and outreach coordinator at the University of Alabama.
Alabama has an incredibly rich fossil record, with most geological periods since the start of the Phanerozoic about 540 million years ago represented on the surface. When rocks and sediments are exposed, fossils can often be found.
Read More from Donation of the Keith Jacobi fossil collection
Squat lobsters of the Galatheoidea superfamily live in all oceans today, from shallow waters to depths of thousands of meters, and from hot hydrothermal vents to cold waters in the polar regions. The number of extant species is currently ~1,300 species, many of which are truly colorful.
The evolutionary history of hermit crabs (Paguroidea) has been unraveling over the last 15 years.
Read More from Most diverse, oldest fauna of hermit crabs discovered