CM Vertebrate Paleontology Collection
Citation
Davis S (2024). CM Vertebrate Paleontology Collection. Version 4.5. Carnegie Museums. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/hw4khc accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-12.Description
The collection of fossil vertebrates at Carnegie Museum of Natural History is the fourth largest in North America. It currently holds over 100,000 specimens with a worldwide distribution, representing all vertebrate classes from the Silurian to the Pleistocene. This collection was acquired primarily through over a century of field work by section staff and associates as well as acquisitions by the Museum. Fossil collecting began in 1895 with the sponsorship of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who supported the museum’s numerous early expeditions to the American West that resulted in one of the best dinosaur collections in the world. Carnegie in his retirement further strengthened the collection with the purchase in 1903 of a large collection of Paleozoic-Cenozoic, European fossils from the Baron de Bayet, a private fossil collector from Brussels, Belgium. Strengths of the collection include Mississippian fishes from Bear Gulch, Montana; Pennsylvanian and Permian fishes, amphibians and reptiles from the tri-state region of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia and the southwestern United States; Jurassic dinosaurs, especially sauropods, from Utah (Dinosaur National Monument) and Wyoming; Jurassic fishes and reptiles from Germany and France; Eocene fishes from Monte Bolca, Italy; Eocene mammals, reptiles, and amphibians from central Wyoming and Utah; Miocene mammals from a site now preserved as Agate Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska; and Pleistocene vertebrates from the Appalachian region.Additional info
http://vertnet.org/resources/norms.htmlTaxonomic Coverages
Approximately 70% of the collection is cataloged (~80,000 specimens), and it continues to grow through field collection, acquisitions, and donations. The collection includes the following major groups ranked as Class in the database: Agnatha, (30 cataloged specimens), Placodermi (99 cataloged specimens), Chondrichthyes (2,259 cataloged specimens), Acanthodii (190 cataloged specimens), Actinopterygii (4,175 cataloged specimens), Sarcopterygii (2,833 cataloged specimens), Amphibia (2,178 cataloged specimens), Reptilia (3,639 cataloged specimens), Aves (434 cataloged specimens), and Mammalia (63,682 cataloged specimens).
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Vertebratarank: subphylum
Geographic Coverages
The collection holds specimens from all continents of the world.
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Sarah Davisoriginator
position: Collection Manager
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh
15213–4080
PA
US
Telephone: +01 (412) 688 8660
email: DavisS@carnegieMNH.org
homepage: http://www.carnegiemnh.org
Sarah Davis
metadata author
position: Collection Manager
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh
15213–4080
PA
US
Telephone: +01 (412) 688 8660
email: DavisS@carnegieMNH.org
homepage: http://www.carnegiemnh.org
David Bloom
programmer
position: VertNet Coordinator
VertNet
email: dbloom@vertnet.org
homepage: http://www.vertnet.org
John Wieczorek
programmer
position: Information Architect
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley
email: tuco@berkeley.edu
homepage: http://www.vertnet.org
Sarah Davis
administrative point of contact
position: Collection Manager
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh
15213–4080
PA
US
Telephone: +01 (412) 688 8660
email: DavisS@carnegieMNH.org
homepage: http://www.carnegiemnh.org