1961-1962 - American Museum of Natural History

DEPARTMENT OF FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES
Norman D. Newell, Chairman
Significant progress was made in a number of fields, despite
a temporary curtailment of the departmental staff. For more
than half of the period under consideration, Dr. Newell was the
sole curator responsible for research, exhibition, and public inquiries
in all matters with which the department is normally
concerned. The vacancy resulting from the departure of Dr.
Donald F. Squires, who transferred to the United States National
Museum on December 1, 1961, was filled by the appointment
of Dr. Roger L. Batten effective July 1, 1962.
Dr. Newell, continuing his studies of the phenomena of mass
extinction in the fossil record of animals, completed a manuscript
on paleontological interruptions as the chief basis for universal
subdivision of the stratigraphic record. These interruptions
are interpreted as the effects of widespread episodes of environmental
change and consequent extinction, rather than simply
epochs of erosion and hiatus, as was believed by Darwin.
Dr. Newell also completed the outlines of the classification
of bivalved mollusks to be adopted in the encyclopedic "Treatise
on Invertebrate Paleontology." This will be the first complete
synthesis of all modern and fossil genera, and it constitutes a
major effort on the part of 20 collaborators in Europe, America,
and New Zealand. The classification represents a new departure
from previous proposals in that orders and suborders are based
on type families.
In collaboration with Dr. John Imbrie of Columbia University
and Dr. E. G. Purdy of Rice University, Dr. Newell continued
to investigate the geological history of the Bahama
Islands. In addition, he was engaged in various studies of the
upper Paleozoic bivalves of the southwestern United States.
Dr. Squires devoted his attention to deep-water corals and
published two papers based on collections made by the "Vema,"
the research vessel of the Lamont Geological Observatory.
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