HONORING THE LEGACY OF NEIL H. LANDMAN (Invited Presentation)

Neil Landman’s contributions to cephalopod paleobiology span decades of dedicated research and groundbreaking discoveries. Through his comprehensive landmark studies on ammonoid and nautiloid paleobiology, he has illuminated these creatures’ past, and our way forward for their future exploration and knowledge. One such noteworthy contribution is his analysis of the intricate patterns and variations in ammonoid shells, resulting in revisions in the classification, systematics, phylogeny, and times and causes of their extinctions of this diverse group, particularly focused on faunas around the K/Pg boundary and Cretaceous molluscan paleobiogeography of the Western Interior Seaway, Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains. He has identified a variety of new species and clarified relationships between groups, shedding light on their evolution, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography, revealing their ecological roles, distribution patterns, and responses to environmental change. Similarly, Neil has made substantial contributions to the study of belemnites and fossil and recent nautiloids. By studying their soft tissue, we now have a better understanding of their ecology, taxonomy, evolutionary history, and ecological significance. Neil spent his postgraduate career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. From here, he has played a pivotal role in mentoring and preparing the next generation of cephalopod paleobiologists. The collaborative and enthusiastic community of researchers that he fostered nurtured cephalopod paleobiology into a vibrant scientific subdiscipline. His visionary thinking was instrumental in acquiring new technologies at the museum, like the CT scanner and SEM, technologies that dramatically expanded collections-based research (and helped his soft tissue study). He has also had a visible impact on the museum’s collections and their legacy, through his fieldwork and grantsmanship in support of curation and digitization efforts. In short, Neil’s contributions to paleobiology are immeasurable and ensure that his scientific and institutional legacy as well as his leadership will long be remembered.