Continental trace fossils and museum exhibits - Geological Curators ...
Continental trace fossils and museum exhibits - Geological Curators ...
Continental trace fossils and museum exhibits - Geological Curators ...
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of more social advanced wasps (Sphecidae <strong>and</strong>Vespidae), which have a variety of shapes <strong>and</strong> sizes.Live <strong>exhibits</strong> of wasps that build large nests are notadvisable because of their aggressive nature (e.g.,Evans <strong>and</strong> Eberhard 1970).SummaryOne of the most interesting things that can be donewith continental <strong>trace</strong> <strong>fossils</strong> in <strong>museum</strong> <strong>exhibits</strong> is todisplay them alongside casts of modern <strong>trace</strong>s thatrepresent homologs or analogues to these ancientbehaviours. Side-by-side displays of modern <strong>and</strong>ancient <strong>trace</strong>s educate the public about howichnologists, palaeobiologists <strong>and</strong> sedimentologistsstudy <strong>and</strong> interpret the significance of <strong>trace</strong> <strong>fossils</strong>with respect to behaviour, organism anatomy,phylogeny, environment <strong>and</strong> ecology. These types of<strong>exhibits</strong> will help the public underst<strong>and</strong> that modernorganisms <strong>and</strong> their behaviours have counterparts inrocks preserved as body <strong>fossils</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>trace</strong> <strong>fossils</strong>, <strong>and</strong>that those <strong>fossils</strong> are used to interpret the evolutionaryhistory of organisms <strong>and</strong> their behaviour throughgeologic time.AcknowledgementsThanks to Stephen Donovan for inviting us tocontribute to this thematic volume. We thank theowners of Rodinga Station <strong>and</strong> the Central L<strong>and</strong>Council of Australia for kind permission to work inthis area. The work was funded, in part, by a ScholarlyStudies grant from the Smithsonian Institution toMCB, <strong>and</strong> a University of Kansas New FacultyResearch grant to STH. Roger Kaesler <strong>and</strong> BrianPlatt supplied invaluable suggestions to improve themanuscript. Julie Retrum (Fig. 3C) <strong>and</strong> S<strong>and</strong>ra Brake(Fig. 3D) provided the photographs of crayfish burrowchimneys. We thank also Loren Babcock <strong>and</strong> SpencerLucas for their helpful reviews. This is PSIcontribution 381.ReferencesABER, J.D. <strong>and</strong> MELILLO, J.M. 1991. TerrestrialEcosystems. Saunders College Publishing,Philadelphia, 429 pp.BEHRENSMEYER, A.K., DAMUTH, J.D.,DIMICHELE, W.A., POTTS, R., SUES, H.-D. <strong>and</strong>WING, S.L. (eds). 1992. Terrestrial Ecosystemsthrough Time—Evolutionary Paleoecology ofTerrestrial Plants <strong>and</strong> Animals. University ofChicago Press, Chicago, 568 pp.BEHRENSMEYER, A.K. <strong>and</strong> HILL, A.P. 1980. Fossilsin the Making: Vertebrate Taphonomy <strong>and</strong>Paleoecology. 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