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Geier Center |
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Collection Holdings
OverviewThe Invertebrate Paleontology Section of the Museum of Natural History & Science at Cincinnati Museum Center focuses on fossil invertebrate taxa from mid-continental North America, with particular emphasis on the middle Ohio Valley (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana). Stratigraphically this area covers Middle Ordovician through Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) as well as Quaternary sequences. The invertebrate paleontology collections are a major scientific resource maintained primarily for the purposes of research and education. The collection of Upper Ordovician fossils, focusing on the uniqueness of the Cincinnati succession, is the world's largest and is unequalled in its scope and quality. Significant research material from other regions and ages are also included in the collections. In 2002, the department initiated a campaign for the election of a Cincinnati City Fossil to be used as a gateway to science education and to raise awareness of the Museum's collection (Storrs, 2002). The winner - the edrioasteroid ("seated star") Isorophus cincinnatiensis, reflects the unique fossil heritage of southwestern Ohio.
Collection HoldingsThe vast majority of the fossil invertebrate collections are from Ordovician through Carboniferous-aged sites of the local tri-state region. The collection is strongest in specimens from the Cincinnatian Series and includes more than 200,000 specimen lots, of which over 49,500 are catalogued. Large, significant Ordovician collections have also been acquired from sites in Canada and New York. In addition, there are over 5,000 type and figured specimens in the collections, most of which are listed in two published type catalogs (Chappars, 1936; Hansman, Shaw and Pettyjohn, 1962). Type specimens feature the materials of Samuel A. Miller, Rousseau Flower, Kenneth E. Caster, August F. Foerste, Richard G. Osgood Jr., Colin D. Sumrall, and many others. Other notable collections are those of the Glendale Lyceum, Henry Probasco, Max J. Kopf, Uriah P. James, Charles L. Faber, Ernst Vaupel, John Pope, Nigel C. Hughes, Thomas Weaver, and Charles and Ralph Dury. A National Science Foundation (NSF) funded transfer of the University of Cincinnati invertebrate paleontology collections to Cincinnati Museum Center occurred in late 1998.
HistoryThe paleontological collections represent the combined efforts of numerous predecessor and partner institutions in the Cincinnati area. These include The Western Museum Society (1818), The Western Academy of Natural Sciences (1835), The Cincinnati Society of Natural History (1870), The University of Cincinnati (1870), and The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History (1957). The collections were begun under the guidance of prominent Cincinnati physician Daniel Drake in 1818 and continued by members of the Western Academy of Natural Sciences. Samuel A. Miller was the first Curator of Paleontology of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History (1871-1874), followed by John W. Hall, Jr. (1874-1877), Edward O. Ulrich (1877-1880), John Mickleborough (1880-1884), Edward M. Cooper (1884-1885), and Charles L. Faber (1885-1886). Ulrich had served as Custodian (Collections Manager) of the Scientific Department beginning in 1873. A comprehensive Geology Department was established in 1886, and later divided into individual departments of invertebrate paleontology, vertebrate paleontology and mineralogy. The University of Cincinnati Geology Museum paleontology collection was founded 1907 and transferred to Cincinnati Museum Center in 1998. The university collection includes thousands of specimens collected by the Dry Dredgers Association of Amateur Geologists & Fossil Collectors, the oldest amateur paleontology association in the United States, founded in 1942.
Major StrengthsLower to Middle Paleozoic invertebrates of central North America, particularly those of the Cincinnati Arch region (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana), are well represented in the collections. Specimens of Late Ordovician age, particularly those from the "type" Cincinnatian are especially significant. Also notable are the Paleozoic echinoderms of the Max J. Kopf Collection, Budenbach (Hunsrückschiefer) fossils, Burgess Shale specimens from Charles D. Walcott and Kenneth E. Caster, Devonian corals from the Falls of the Ohio, the Burlington (Iowa) crinoid types of Samuel A. Miller and William Girley, and a collection of South American invertebrate fossils (including types) acquired by Kenneth. E. Caster and others. The type Ordovician trace fossils of R. G. Osgood, Jr. are in the collection, as are the trilobite ontogenetic series of Hu Chung-hung, a cast set of European Homalozoa and primitive echinoderm types (notably of Bohemia) and casts of Himalayan trilobite types (the only set outside of India).
Research FacilitiesSeveral fossil preparation and study laboratories are equipped with binocular microscopes, a camera lucida, standard pneumatic tools including air-scribes and airbrasive machines, rock saws, grinders, fume hoods, and particle collectors. A separate wet lab allows for sediment processing and screen washing procedures. A casting and molding laboratory is maintained by the Exhibits Department. The Geier Collections & Research Center also houses a darkroom with standard photographic facilities, a 5,000+ volume science research library, field lockers, and a complete range of collecting equipment, including field vehicles. The collection is held in a dedicated 5,800 square foot room that is equipped with regulated HV/AC, sprinklers, fire-rated doors, a monitored security system, study desks, a large paleontological reprint library, and a terminal to the Museum's ARGUS cataloging server. Collection storage includes 860 square feet of shelf space and over 20,000 square feet of cabinet storage exclusive of planned expansion space.
Staff Glenn W. Storrs, Ph.D., Yale University, 1986 Brenda Hanke, Ph.D., Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology Adjunct Staff:
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