RECENT PALEONTOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND DISCOVERIES IN ALABAMA, USA

The geological and fossil record in Alabama spans the last 500 million years of Earth’s history. Despite an unconformity during the Permian - Jurassic, nearly all geological time is present at or near the surface of the state. Within this rock record, the plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossils found in Alabama range from Cambrian trilobites (ex. Olenellus) to Cretaceous dinosaurs (ex. Appalachiasaurs, Lophorhothon, etc) to Pleistocene Mammoths (Mammuthus) and Mastodons (Mammut). Although Alabama has a rich fossil record, state collections have been, by and large, overlooked since the first materials were reported in the state during the 1820s and 1830s. Recent research and acquisitions made by the Alabama Museum of Natural History (ALMNH), Tuscaloosa, AL and the McWane Science Center (MSC), Birmingham, AL showcase the wealth and quality of fossil materials still being found in the state.

Ongoing fieldwork and collections based research through the ALMNH and MSC reveal that there is still much to learn about the paleoecology of Alabama. Field sites including the Pennsylvanian ichnofossil locality, The Steven C. Minkin Paleozoic Footprint Site, and the ALMNH Late Cretaceous field site, Harrell Station Paleontological Station, are continuously collected and are producing new materials that advance our knowledge of the fossil flora and fauna of the state. Examples of current research includes: Pennsylvanian ichnofossils; Campanian-Maastrichtian pterosaurs, dinosaurs, sharks, fishes, rudist clams; Neogene chondrichthyans, turtles, and crocodilians; and Rancholabrean mammals. The breadth and wealth of fossils in Alabama is integral to understanding the paleoecology of the southeastern United States and deserves more research.