BUILDING A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTI-USE FOSSIL IDENTIFICATION GUIDE FOR THE EDELMAN FOSSIL PARK FOR EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park at Rowan University preserves a shallow marine fossil assemblage in close association with the K/Pg boundary, as well as an abundance of Paleocene marine fossils. Due to its wealth of fossils, the Fossil Park has become a valued STEM education resource in southern New Jersey for all grade levels. One thing unique about the Fossil Park is the remarkable diversity of taxa discovered on a regular basis by researchers and visitors alike. From large predators like Mosasaurus to small invertebrates like Lithophaga, the great diversity at the Fossil Park makes identifying the taxa found here a difficult task, even for seasoned research staff. Therefore, we have fulfilled the need for a comprehensive fossil identification guide for use by staff, researchers, citizen scientists, and students. We first organized taxa by Formation and/or the fossil-rich horizons they can be found in: the Navesink, Main Fossiliferous Layer within the lower portion of the Hornerstown, upper Hornerstown, and Vincentown formations. Taxa were then sorted alphabetically by genus into vertebrate and invertebrate categories. Scientific illustrations and/or figures of each taxon were then added from historical monographs, peer-reviewed articles, (as necessary) relevant websites and photographs of Fossil Park Collection specimens. Images were purposefully chosen to capture diverse views of specimens, with emphasis on views that are the most useful for identification while in the field. Ultimately, our work has produced a comprehensive book which is novel in its format and has broad educational applications. The complete guide will soon be made available in both physical and digital formats to Fossil Park staff and volunteers, as well as visitors. We are also incorporating this guide into a more robust volunteer training program, and in teaching regional K-12 and college students about paleontology and the diversity of fossils that can be found locally. The methods we used to make this multi-use identification guide can be easily replicated by other researchers and educators, and our hope is that our guide can serve as a useful model.