Working in Paleontology: An Introduction to the Collections
Paleontology is part of the Earth Sciences Department at the Field, which is focused on paleontology, systematics, evolutionary theory, and meteoritics. Most of our paleontologists take an interdisciplinary approach in their research programs, combining fossil and living organisms together to extract information of broad evolutionary significance. As you’ll read on, these experts all have a favorite specimen (or more) and no two are alike!
One of my favorite specimens is the opalized Plesiosaur vertebra, which is on display in the Grainger Hall of Gems. Not only is this a fossil from one of my favorite ancient marine reptiles, but it's also a beautiful, colorful opal, a favorite gemstone of mine.
Adrienne Stroup
Akiko Shinya
I have so many specimens that I love at the Field, but my top two favorites are Buitreraptor gonzalezorum and Siats meekerorum. Buitreraptor—you can see a cast of it in the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet—was discovered in Argentina but brought to Chicago to be prepared, molded, casted, and mounted by the team of prepartors working together with researchers. This specimen represents great team work and how collaborative work makes science better.
My second favorite specimen, Siats meekerorum, is also a favorite for sentimental reasons: we found it, we prepared it, we named it, and we own it. Finding a new dinosaur species is exciting and since the discovery of Siats in 2008, we have found several more new species in Utah, but Siats was the first of our discoveries and it has a special place in my heart. The species is also named after the Meeker family, who has supported our research over many years. It is a reminder that the Field receives so many wonderful donations to science. To top it all, Siats is making its debut in the new Jurassic World: Dominion movie, and I'm psyched about its newfound fame!
Az Klymiuk
My favorite specimen is a weathered stromatolite from Glacier National Park. (Stromatolites are layered mounds, columns, and sheet-like sedimentary rocks.) This fossilized microbial mat community is about 1.2 billion years old, and there is something profound about being able to hold a piece of an alien world, when land and sea were dominated by single-celled life.
Pia Viglietti
There are many fossils from South Africa in the Field Museum collections, and there are also fossils from Tanzania and Zambia on temporary loan. Some of these fossils are also on display in the Permian and Triassic sections of Evolving Planet, so I have to be a little biased and give them a shout-out! Favorites among these include the skull of the sabre-toothed mammal forerunner known as a gorgonopsid collected in South Africa. There is also a cast of a Tanzanian fossil known as a silesaur (a dinosaur relative) called Asilisaurus. You can see both these fossils in the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet.
Adrienne Stroup
One of my favorites is the opalized Plesiosaur vertebra, which is on display in the Grainger Hall of Gems. Not only is this a fossil from one of my favorite ancient marine reptiles, but it's also a beautiful, colorful opal, a favorite gemstone of mine. For the bone to become a fossil and for that fossil to be opalized, the conditions had to be just right, and it’s rare for this to happen. Fossils in general are both biological and geological in nature and when this reptile died and its bones were buried, silica solution seeped into the cavities of the vertebra and hardened to create a scientific specimen that's also beautiful!
This is the second post in a series featuring these paleontologists. Read about their areas of research in part one and their career advice and inspirations in part three!
